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The US has accelerated reconnaissance in China-claimed waters, Beijing says

The United States has stepped up intelligence activities near the Chinese coast under the Joe Biden administration, leading to a recent encounter between the country’s warships, Beijing warned Thursday after the American president declared their rivalry the fight of the century between democracy and defined autocracy. On the day Biden aimed at Beijing in his first speech before a joint congressional session, China Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said operations for US warships were more than 20 percent and for planes in and around China claimed Waters increased by 40 percent compared to the same period last year under Donald Trump’s administration. Wu said at a monthly press conference that the surge was “destabilizing” and led to a close encounter in early April when the guided missile destroyer USS Mustin had to be warned while it was conducting a “close-up” reconnaissance of the Chinese aircraft carrier Liaoning and its combat group. Do you have questions about the biggest topics and trends from around the world? Get the answers with SCMP Knowledge, our new platform for curated content with explanations, FAQs, analysis and infographics brought to you by our award-winning team. The encounter followed weeks of tensions between China and the Philippines over the presence of Chinese ships at Whitsun on the Spratly Islands within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, which was claimed by both nations. The U.S. Navy released a provocative photo following the incident, in which senior American naval officers stared at a Chinese warship while shadowing the Liaoning carrier group at close range. Wu said the encounter “seriously affected the Chinese side’s training activities and seriously jeopardized the safety of navigation and personnel on both sides,” adding that the Chinese ships had “warned” US ships and filed complaints with Washington . Beijing’s statement came when Biden used his first address to joint congressional sessions to view US-China relations as a battle in centuries of technology and promised to maintain “a strong military presence” in the Indo-Pacific region – “not to” Start a conflict, but to prevent one ”. Chinese President Xi Jinping was “deadly serious [China] Biden said Wednesday before a socially distant gathering of lawmakers in the House of Representatives. “He and others – autocrats – believe that democracy cannot compete with autocracies in the 21st century because it takes too long to reach consensus,” he said. “We are competing with China and other countries to win the 21st century. We are at a major turning point in history. We have to do more than just retreat … we have to retreat better. “Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin rejected the idea that China posed a threat to the United States, saying that China is not concerned with hegemony. He accused the US of imposing restrictions on other nations’ tech companies in order to maintain their monopoly in the sector, and said that Toshiba and Toyota from Japan, as well as Chinese companies, were restricted last year. South China Sea: The dispute that could spark a military conflict China’s top diplomat Yang Jiechi said in an article in the Communist Party’s People’s Daily on Thursday that China and the US should maintain cooperation, but Beijing would not tolerate any attempt at its policies to undermine system. Since Biden took office in January, the US has conducted at least four operations near the South China Sea and three more near the cross-strait. The US has been conducting regular “freedom of navigation” operations in the South China Sea since 2015 and has increased their frequency. Last year, seven operations were conducted to challenge China’s “excessive maritime claims” in the East China and South China Seas, according to a report by the US Department of Defense to Congress. Also on Thursday, Wu said the recent surge in Chinese cross-strait military activity was aimed at “separatists” in Taiwan and “outside forces”. “[We] have prepared extensively for the separatist activities of Taiwan’s independence and the interference of external forces, ”Wu replied to a question about speculation that the recently commissioned first amphibious assault ship of the Type 075 could be deployed near Taiwan. China sees the island as a breakaway province that should be forcibly united with the mainland if necessary. Wu suggested that Liaoning Group operations near Taiwan and the South China Sea would become “routine”. Wu Xinbo, director of the Institute for International Studies at Fudan University, said rivalries between superpowers could lead to confrontation, with Taiwan being one of the main potential hot spots. “In the months ahead, the Taiwan issue and the Winter Olympics are likely to be the biggest hot spots in Sino-US relations,” said Wu. “Biden said he wanted to host a global democracy summit later this year and could invite Taiwan. This would cross China’s red line. He added that China’s response would be more aggressive than the 1995 third strait crisis. Wang Yiwei, professor of international relations at Renmin University, said Biden’s China policy is still taking shape and is under domestic pressure, but emphasized first the rivalry. “Biden is influenced by several parties in shaping his China policy, including Congress, think tanks and chambers of commerce,” said Wang. “He is still in the exploration phase of dealing with China. I think it will take a few more months for a relatively mature China policy to be developed, but then it will be very difficult to win the cooperation of different forces in the US. “China and the US will work together in certain areas while competing in others. There will be rivalry, but no vicious life and death rivalry. Strengthening crisis management, laying down red lines and laying down some competition rules will be the main development of future Sino-US relations. Additional coverage by Rachel ZhangMore from the South China Morning Post: Joe Biden 100 Days in: Little Difference From Trump’s Attitude Towards China, Analysts Say, Joe Biden Takes Ambitious and Expensive Post-Pandemic Plan: “America Raising Again” To Maintain China’s Trade -Deal Performance Under The Microscope ‘It Was Weird’: Scenes From Joe Biden’s SpeechThis US Article Has Accelerated Reconnaissance In China Claimed Waters Says Beijing First Appeared On The South China Morning Post For The Latest News From The South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2021.