War with US practical reality: PLA official

A Chinese military official has said that war with the US is a practical reality, signalling Beijing's preparedness for a possible military conflict with Washington.

In a commentary on the official website of People's Liberation Army, the official at the national defence mobilisation department in the Central Military Commission has said that US rebalancing its strategy in Asia, military deployments in the East and South China Seas and the instillation of a missile defence system in South Korea were hot spots getting closer to ignition.

"A war within the president's term' or 'war breaking out tonight' are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality," South China Morning Post quoted the article.

The official People's Daily said in another commentary on Sunday that China's military would conduct exercises on the high seas regardless of foreign provocations.

China's sole aircraft carrier Liaoning passed through the narrow Taiwan Strait last month.

The tensions between the two countries have been on constant rise after Donald Trump's election as the US President. He has infuriated China by challenging on the issues of Taiwan and South China Sea.

The real estate mogul has contested "One China Policy," which considers Taiwan as part of mainland. No US government has done that in the last four decades.

Trump has openly challenged Beijing's sovereignty over the energy-rich South China Sea while his predecessor Barack Obama maintained neutrality over the dispute. However, he did send the US warships to the contested waters, citing the freedom of navigation.

The commentary referred to remarks by the US secretary of state Rex Tillerson hopeful that the US should stop China's access to artificial islands it has built in disputed areas of the South China Sea.

New White House spokesman Sean Spicer told a press conference that the US would prevent China from taking over territory in international waters in the South China Sea.

--IANS

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