China’s Defense Ministry issued a statement on Friday rejecting Pentagon accusations from earlier in the week, saying there had been no missile tests carried out in the South China Sea whatsoever.
The Pentagon made the claims earlier in the week, saying that they
believe China launched test missiles in disputed waters around the South
China Sea, near the Spratly Islands.
Chinese officials say there were operations in the area, but no missile
test fire. They said the operations were “routine drills,” and some live
fire was conducted as part of the drills in the area.
US officials say they are still analyzing data from the area, but that
they believe that China did launch some anti-ship missiles. That does
not necessarily make them test launches, however, and rather they might
just be firing them as part of the drills.
Either way, this is a continuation of US efforts to contest China’s
claims in the region. Several nations have maritime claims around the
South China Sea, and the US endorses everyone’s claims so long as they
overlap with China’s.
China Denies Pentagon Claims of Missile Tests in South China Sea
Says only fire was part of 'routine drills'
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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