Lieutenant-General He Lei, deputy head of the Academy of Military Science of the People's Liberation Army (PLA), meets the press in Beijing, March 8, 2018. [Photo: cri.cn]
Newsweek: China’s South Sea Islands Need to Be Militarized to Deter U.S. ‘Trouble,’ General Says
A leading Chinese general has suggested that defense military structures should be built on China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea, while Foreign Minister Wang Yi has blamed U.S. aggression for destabilizing the region, the Associated Press has reported.
Vice president of China’s Academy of Military Sciences, Lieutenant General He Lei argued that the islands need to be militarized to reinforce China’s claim over sovereignty of the sea. The artificial islands have been built despite competing claims from China’s neighbors and increasingly frequent U.S. shows of force in the area.
He made the comments during a meeting with journalists at the annual meeting of China’s ceremonial legislature. The general declined to comment on whether Chinese warplanes would be deployed on the islands.
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Update: General Says Beijing Needs to Arm South China Sea Islands (VOA/AP)
WNU Editor: Chinese General He Lei is out of the loop .... China's state broadcaster was boasting last January that these islands have already been militarized .... China's State Broadcaster Airs Aerial Footage Of One Of its Military Bases In The South China Sea (January 5, 2018).
