China Thursday confirmed that it is planning joint military
exercises with Russia. The mid-August exercises will be aimed at
preventing "dangerous military activities" along the borders of two
countries.
"They are not aimed at a third party," said Foreign Ministry
spokesman Liu Jianchao at Thursday's regular press conference.
Liu said reports that the so-called big-scale joint military
exercises are targeting a third country are not consistent with the
facts.
China and Russia, in July of 1994, signed an official treaty on the
prevention of "dangerous military activities" along the border
areas of the two countries, according to the spokesman.
"The purpose of the military exercises is to test the reliability
of the signal communication in order to fulfill the treaty so as to
prevent possible dangerous military activities in the border areas
and maintain peace and stability in the region," Liu said.
Recently, some western media reported that the joint military
exercises were to demonstrate opposition to the planned US
anti-ballistic missile defense shield and the deployment of US
weapons in space.
When asked to comment on US President George W. Bush's remarks
early this week that the United States will use "all tools" at his
disposal to oust Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, Liu said that
Iraq's sovereignty and territorial integrity should be completely
respected.
"China maintains that in dealing with state-to-state relations we
should abide by the United Nations (UN) Charter and the norms
governing international relations," Liu said, adding that China is
opposed to the use of force or the threat of the use of force.
Speaking at a surprise news conference, Bush said that the world
would be a safer place once Saddam Hussein had been overthrown and
said he was personally engaged in "all aspects" of planning to
achieve that goal, noting it is a stated policy of the US
government to have a regime change and it hasn't changed.
According to New York Times' reports, a top secret US
military document outlines a massive, three-pronged attack on Iraq
by land, sea and air with as many as 250,000 troops and hundreds of
warplanes.
Liu also reiterated China's stance on opposing the United States'
arms sales to Taiwan and military cooperation between the two
sides.
Liu's remarks followed a series of reports on possible US weapon
sales to Taiwan and military cooperation between the two.
Taiwan is not a dependent of the United States, and the arms sales
will severely interfere in China's internal affairs, undermine the
Chinese government's efforts to peacefully resolve the Taiwan
problem, damage Sino-US relations and wreck peace and stability
across the Taiwan Straits, Liu said.
Liu warned the US to be aware of the seriousness of the problem,
keep its commitments made in the three Sino-US joint communiques
and stop military and other official contacts with Taiwan, so as to
keep Sino-US relations and the mutual interests of the two
countries from being harmed.
Turning to the on-going visit by Nepalese King Gyanendra Bir Bikram
Shah Dev, Liu said that China supports his government's efforts to
crack down on anti-government armed forces and voiced China's
opposition to and condemnation of violence and terrorism of all
forms.
Liu said the "Maoist" terrorism in Nepal usurped the name of
China's founder Mao Zedong, noting that no force in China has
connections with it.
When asked why China has suspended transmission of international
TV-news channel BBC World, Liu said that British Broadcasting Corp
(BBC) World Service has violated the agreements reached between it
and China International TV Corp on many occasions.
Liu gave no information on when the service might be reinstated,
saying it depends on the "attitude and practice" taken by the
BBC.
BBC World was given its license to broadcast in China in January
2001 and is the only officially authorized BBC service available in
the country.
(China Daily July 12,
2002)