China warned the US that “those who play with fire will perish by it” after a congressional commission reported Washington is not ready to handle the double threat of China and Russia. China issued an ominous war warning to the United States after a new 145-page report warned Beijing and Russia pose an “existential challenge” to the country.
The Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture concluded the US would be “ill-prepared” to cope with the double threat unless immediate action is taken. Rusia and China’s conduct in recent years was described as “militarily troubling and increasingly aggressive,” with the 12 members of the Commission claiming their behaviour heightens the “risk of conflict with two nuclear peers.”
But Beijing was quick to dismiss the conclusion of the report as “deeply upsetting” in a scathing rebuke of the congressional warning in the official newspaper of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The newspaper wrote: “The idea of ‘preparing for possible simultaneous wars with Russia and China,’ once a fringe fantasy, has gradually made its way into Washington’s agenda, which is deeply unsettling.
“If Washington were to adopt even a small portion of the recommendations in this report, the harm and threats it could pose to world peace would be immeasurable and would ultimately backfire on the US itself.” The unnamed author of the Global Times article then proceeded to issue a stern warning about the risk the US would incur if talk of war were to continue.
They added: “There is an old Chinese saying, ‘Those who play with fire will perish by it.’ This is something that is worth Washington’s careful consideration.”
The CCP newspaper slammed the bipartisan members of the commission as reckless for “promoting a nuclear arms race under the banner of ‘deterrence’,” – warning their rhetoric was a “disastrous step backward in history.”
The warning comes amid growing tensions between Beijing and Washington over the growing friendship between China and Russia as well as persistent Chinese hostility towards Taiwan. On Thursday, China scrambled fighter jets to the Taiwan Strait to warn off US patrol aircraft for flying through the strait.
But the US hut out at the PRC insisting its patrols showed the nation’s commitment to “free and open Indo-Pacific.” In a statement following the incident, the Navy said: “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nation.”
Beijing however described the flights as “public hype,” with the Eastern Theatre Command of the People’s Liberation Army saying: “Troops in the theatre are always on high alert and will resolutely defend national sovereignty and security as well as regional peace and stability.”
Taiwan is the thorniest issue in the frayed US-China relationship. Beijing claims sovereignty over the island, which lies roughly 100 miles off the mainland’s southeastern coast and vows to seize it, by force if necessary, to achieve national reunification. The United States wants a peaceful resolution and has a security pact with the island, supplying it with military hardware and technologies to prevent any forced takeover by Beijing.
China’s military actions near the island have fueled concerns over armed attacks. President Joe Biden has said he would send troops to defend Taiwan in case of war, while Chinese President Xi Jinping has demanded the US respect his country’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Source: Express
