China on Friday dismissed a US report on its military expansion as “completely groundless” and said it had exaggerated the threat to Taiwan, the island Beijing calls a breakaway province. The US defence department said in its annual report to Congress that China was increasingly focused on naval power and had invested in hi-tech weaponry that would extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond.
The report, released on Wednesday, also renewed US warnings that China was extending its military edge over Taiwan, citing better artillery that could strike targets within or even across the Taiwan Strait. “The US report is totally and completely groundless,” China’s defence ministry said in a statement faxed to AFP, adding that it had “exaggerated the so-called mainland military threat to Taiwan.”
