21st Century Wire says…
During yesterday’s cabinet confirmation hearing in Washington DC, hawkish comments made by President-Elect Trump’s Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson were very pleasing to pro-war Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham. Not so for Chinese war hawks…
Tillerson’s remarks referred to the 3,000 acres of reclaimed land in the South China Sea in the Spratly Island chain, presumably for use by the Chinese Navy, but also as a shipping resource. China denies the new facilities will restrict freedom of movement for any international shipping.
It’s important to note that there is a tremendous amount of pressure being put to bear on the incoming Trump Administration by neoconservatives and perpetual war advocates like McCain, Graham, Tom Cotton, Marco Rubio and others. This relentless pressure appeared to affect Tillerson during yesterday’s hearings.
In response, a Chinese Communist Party publication penned a scathing OpEd in response to Tillerson’s comments….
Telegraph
locking Chinese access to islands in the South China Sea would require the US to “wage war”, an influential Chinese state-run tabloid said on Friday, after US Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson suggested the strategy on Wednesday.
The media salvo from China is the latest sign of increased tensions between the countries since President-elect Donald Trump accepted a telephone call from Taiwan’s leader, Tsai Ing-wen.
Mr Tillerson told his confirmation hearing before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee that he wanted to send a signal to China that their access to islands in the disputed South China Sea “is not going to be allowed”. He did not elaborate.
The United States would have to “wage a large-scale war” in the South China Sea to prevent Chinese access to the islands, the Global Times said in an English language editorial.
[…] “Tillerson had better bone up on nuclear power strategies if he wants to force a big nuclear power to withdraw from its own territories,” the paper added…
Continue this story at The Telegraph
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