Chinese military calls US biggest threat to world peace

BEIJING — China’s Defense Ministry on Sunday blasted a critical U.S. report on the country’s military ambitions, saying it is the U.S. instead that poses the biggest threat to the international order and world peace.

The statement follows the Sept. 2 release of the annual Defense Department report to Congress on Chinese military developments and goals that it said would have “serious implications for U.S. national interests and the security of the international rules-based order.”

Defense Ministry spokesman Col. Wu Qian called the report a “wanton distortion” of China’s aims and the relationship between the People’s Liberation Army and China’s 1.4 billion people.

“Many years of evidence shows that it is the U.S. that is the fomenter of regional unrest, the violator of the international order and the destroyer of world peace,” he said.

U.S. actions in Iraq, Syria, Libya and other countries over the past two decades have resulted in the deaths of more than 800,000 people and displacement of millions, Qian said.

“Rather than reflecting on itself, the U.S. issued a so-called report that made false comments about China’s normal defense and military construction,” he said in the statement. “We call on the U.S. to view China’s national defense and military construction objectively and rationally, cease making false statements and related reports, and take concrete actions to safeguard the healthy development of bilateral military relations.”

Running to more than 150 pages, the Defense Department report examined the PLA’s technical capabilities, doctrines and the ultimate aims of China’s military buildup. It said it includes becoming a “practical instrument” of China’s statecraft with an active role in advancing Beijing’s foreign policy and “aims to revise aspects of the international order.”

“Certainly, many factors will determine how this course unfolds,” the report said. “What is certain is that (the ruling Communist Party) has a strategic end state that it is working towards, which, if achieved and its accompanying military modernization left unaddressed, will have serious implications for U.S. national interests and the security of the international rules-based order.”

Much of the report was devoted to analyzing China’s strategy toward Taiwan, a U.S. ally which China considers a part of its territory to be annexed by force if necessary. China’s military capabilities dwarf those of the island of 23 million in numerical terms, although any invasion of Taiwan would be complex and would carry major political risks, the report said.

It also looked at areas where the 2 million-member PLA, the world’s largest standing military, has overtaken the U.S., including in the size of its navy, now the world’s largest with approximately 350 ships and submarines compared to around 293 for the U.S.

China has also built a considerable arsenal of land-based ballistic and cruise missiles and has one of the world’s largest forces of advanced long-range surface-to-air systems, the report said.

This year’s report comes as relations between Beijing and Washington have hit their lowest ebb in decades amid simmering disputes over trade, technology, Taiwan, human rights and the South China Sea .

This story corrects figure for China’s population.

北京——中国国防部周日抨击了一份批评中国军事野心的美国报告，称美国才是对国际秩序和世界和平构成最大威胁的国家。

此前，美国国防部于 9 月 2 日向国会提交了年度报告，报告指出，中国的军事发展和目标将对“美国国家利益和基于规则的国际秩序的安全产生严重影响”。

国防部发言人吴谦上校称该报道“肆意歪曲”了中国的目标以及中国人民解放军与14亿中国人民之间的关系。

他说：“多年的证据表明，美国才是地区动乱的煽动者、国际秩序的破坏者和世界和平的破坏者。”

钱先生说，过去二十年来，美国在伊拉克、叙利亚、利比亚和其他国家的行动导致超过80万人死亡，数百万人流离失所。

他在声明中说：“美国非但没有进行自我反省，反而发布了一份所谓的报告，对中国正常的国防和军事建设妄加评论。我们呼吁美方客观理性地看待中国的国防和军事建设，停止发表虚假声明和相关报告，采取切实行动维护双边军事关系的健康发展。”

这份长达150多页的国防部报告分析了解放军的技术能力、军事理论以及中国军事建设的最终目标。报告指出，解放军的目标是成为中国国家治理的“实用工具”，在推进北京外交政策方面发挥积极作用，并“旨在改变国际秩序的某些方面”。

报告指出：“当然，许多因素将决定事态如何发展。但可以肯定的是，（执政的共产党）有一个正在努力实现的战略最终目标，如果这一目标得以实现，而与之相关的军事现代化问题又得不到解决，那么这将对美国的国家利益和基于规则的国际秩序的安全产生严重影响。”

报告的大部分篇幅都用于分析中国对台战略。台湾是美国的盟友，但中国视其为领土的一部分，必要时将以武力吞并。报告指出，中国的军事实力在数量上远超拥有2300万人口的台湾，但任何入侵台湾的行动都将十分复杂，并伴有重大的政治风险。

报告还考察了拥有200万兵力的中国人民解放军（世界上规模最大的常备军）在哪些方面超越了美国，包括其海军规模。中国人民解放军目前拥有约350艘舰艇和潜艇，是世界上规模最大的海军，而美国海军则拥有约293艘。

报告称，中国还建立了相当规模的陆基弹道导弹和巡航导弹武库，并拥有世界上规模最大的先进远程地对空导弹系统部队之一。

今年的报告发布之际，北京和华盛顿之间的关系跌至数十年来的最低点，双方在贸易、技术、台湾、人权和南海等问题上存在持续不断的争端。

本文更正了中国人口数据。