China says US ‘power politics’ undermines global stability

Bloomberg

China accused the US of undermining global stability, as the country released its first defense white paper since Chinese President Xi Jinping initiated a sweeping military overhaul
in 2015.
The paper titled “China’s National Defense in the New Era” — in a reference to a key Xi slogan — said that the US had provoked competition among major countries.
The paper noted that the “international security system and order are undermined by growing hegemonism, power politics, unilateralism and constant regional conflicts and wars.”
The language represented a departure from the previous
report, which focused on efforts to improve military-to-military cooperation between the world’s two largest economies.
China’s white papers have “oscillated between boilerplate statements as well as the military reform agenda, but this one stands out and offers a plausible alternative to the US’s vision for regional and global security,” said Alexander Neill, a Shangri-La Dialogue senior fellow for Asia-Pacific security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

‘Strategic Competitor’
Xi is preparing to mark 70 years of Communist Party rule in Beijing later this year facing a trade war with the US that has aggravated a host of security disputes between the two countries. President Donald Trump’s administration last year issued a scathing report accusing China of “economic aggression,” following on from the Pentagon’s decision to brand the country a “strategic competitor.”
Meanwhile, disputes over Washington’s military support for Taipei have re-emerged as the US approves arms sales, publicises naval transits through the Taiwan Strait and shows other support for Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.
The white paper highlighted recent patrols by Chinese warships and warplanes around Taiwan, saying the operations sent a “stern warning” to independence advocates, in a reference to Tsai’s party.
The Mainland Affairs Council in Taipei condemned the report as an effort by Beijing to use cross-strait tensions to expand its armed forces. Taiwan’s military was expected to conduct missile tests from Pingtung county on the island’s southern coast. The test had been announced July 10 by the Taiwan Fisheries Agency.
China’s paper said the situation in the South China Sea was “generally stable and improving” as regional countries are properly managing risks and differences. The US has accused China of militarising the disputed waterway by deploying forces on reclaimed reefs while Beijing describes increased American naval patrols as destabilising.
“China is moving to own the regional security discourse and narrative,” Neill said. “It’s describing the US alliance system as a moribund relic of the cold war and China has a new vision underpinned by Xi Jinping’s vision.”