US Defense Secretary: The U.S. military is watching the Chinese military move closely

(Morning News) The Pentagon of the United States said that while China ’s time to focus on the crown disease epidemic, China has taken more radical actions in the South China Sea, and the U.S. military has strengthened countermeasures.

U.S. Defense Minister Esper said at a video conference hosted by the Brucks Society on Monday that when the concentrated energy of the world's countries should cope with the crown disease, China and Russia have strengthened their military expansion, but the increase is not very largeEssence

Esper: I don't think their provocative behavior has increased substantially.Of course, we see that China's behavior in the Pacific region is more aggressive than before, and Russia is also busy in places like Libya and Syria.

In early April, the Chinese Maritime Police Ship hit a fishing boat in Vietnam in the waters of the Xisha Islands.Two weeks later, Beijing announced the establishment of two administrative districts of Xisha and Nansha below Sansha City to try to strengthen its sovereignty claims.In terms of military, China sent the Liaoning aircraft carrier and guard fleet frequently in the waters near Taiwan and the South China Sea on the grounds of training.

During the same period, the Seventh Fleet of the U.S. Navy has also been acting in that sea area, including crossing the Taiwan Strait twice, and crossing the Saisha and Nansha collar in China for two consecutive days to implement the freedom of navigation allowed by international law.

Esper mentioned the moves of these China in the conversation and confirmed that the U.S. military strengthened its efforts to deal with Chinese behavior.

Esper: (Commander of the U.S. Indo -Pacific Command) General Davidson did greatly. In fact, he accelerated the rhythm of operations in the South China Sea, including operations on water, underwater, and air.We are starting a lot of air monitoring.We have implemented several times in the Taiwan Strait several times.We are continuing to look closely at China's actions.

Minister Esper said that if the crown disease epidemic will continue to affect the US military's ability to combat, but the current impact is not great. So far, there are less than 5,000 crown virus infection among the 2 million US military.With less than 100, there are only two people due to the virus.

He said that despite the impact of the crown disease, the Pentagon is continuing to promote the national defense strategy.This strategy depends on China as the primary security threat of the United States.

The Chinese military last week in a statement that accused U.S. warships entering the waters of Xisha, saying that the United States should put energy on the prevention and control of the country's epidemic and do more beneficial things for the international anti -epidemic.