BEIJING, Aug 31 (INP) China and many countries have recently carried out joint military exercises, training and competitions, which includes the friendly Pakistani armed forces.

These joint exercises, training and competition help the militaries of participating countries to enhance understanding, deepen mutual trust, improve ability to deal with multiple security threats and jointly maintain regional peace and stability, this was stated by the spokesperson of Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) senior Colonel Wu Qian here at a monthly news briefing.

To a question about South China Sea, he said, the islands in the South China Sea have been the Chinese territory ever since the ancient times.

It is also a fact that freedom of navigation in the region has never been a problem. For a period of time, the US side has been hyping up the South China Sea issue, attempting to blame China for harming freedom of navigation in the region, he added.

Colonel Wu Qian pointed out that a lie will always remain a lie although it has been told a thousand times. The island construction by China is mainly for civilian purposes. It is reasonable and legitimate.

The deployment of necessary defense facilities on these islands is also the rights a sovereign state is entitled to. It is reasonable and legitimate. When US military aircraft flew over these islands with provocation, it is also reasonable and legitimate for China to warn these aircraft according to relevant rules and regulations. At the same time, China noticed that the US side has been ignoring the positive efforts China has made to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

For example, recently, we released a piece of news about China’s sending a professional search and rescue ship named as South China Sea Rescue-115 to the Nansha Islands.

However, they did not find any media coverage from the US media. As far as he knows, this ship has conducted three successful rescue operations, rescuing one fishing boat and four fishermen.

He reminded the US side not to purposefully turn a blind eye to China’s efforts. China will, as always, make positive efforts to maintain peace and stability in the South China Sea.

INP/AJ