China refutes Pentagon report of overseas military bases in Pakistan

Beijing did not take lightly Pentagon’s report of having plans of making military bases in Pakistan and termed the report as ‘irresponsible’. The US Defense Department report had predicted that China would expand its global military presence and would build overseas bases in countries with which it has good ties like Pakistan.

The report was published on Tuesday and it also estimated that China spent $180 billion last year on its military-a figure which is well over the country’s official $140 billion defense budget.

“China most likely will seek to establish additional military bases in countries with which it has a longstanding friendly relationship and similar strategic interests, such as Pakistan, and in which there is a precedent for hosting foreign militaries,” the report said.

Meanwhile China was quick to respond to the claims made in the report and denied both these things. China’s Defense Ministry released a statement on Wednesday in which it said; “China is not doing any military expansion and does not seek a sphere of influence.”

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying likewise said during a regular briefing that China “is firmly opposed” to aspects of the publication.

“We have noted the report released by the US which made irresponsible remarks about China’s national defense development in disregard of the facts,” Hua said, declining to comment on “speculation” and noting that the “friendly cooperation (between China and Pakistan) does not target any third party.”

Meanwhile Pakistan itself has not made any comments about this statement.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=54974

Posted by fatimaarshad on Jun 8 2017. Filed under Latest News, World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.