A Pentagon general said on Thursday that the U.S. has the ability to “blow apart” one of China’s disputed islands in the South China Sea, at a time when the Trump administration is trying to get China on board with helping them with North Korea.
“The United States military has a lot of experience in the Western Pacific taking down small islands,” Marine Lieutenant General Kenneth McKenzie said during a Pentagon news briefing, pointing out, however, that his statement should not be misconstrued as a threat, but rather a simple observation of the facts.
“We have a lot of experience in the Second World War taking down small islands that are isolated. So, that’s a core competency of the U.S. military,” he said.
General McKenzie’s remarks come amid growing tension in the contested region, as the U.S. ramps up freedom of navigation operations in response to China’s steady militarization of its artificial islands, CNN writes.
The outgoing head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said on Wednesday that China was the U.S.’s “biggest long-term challenge” in the region, a statement which came under the harsh criticism of the Chinese government.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a press conference on Wednesday that the U.S.’s accusations that China militarized the region while “hyping up militarization” there was “like a thief crying, ‘Stop thief’!”
She also questioned the U.S. motivation behind its regular presence in the South China Sea islands. During the latest such operation, the United States said a Chinese ship operated in an unprofessional manner close to the U.S. Navy ships.
General McKenzie suggested that the U.S. “will continue to conduct freedom of navigation operations as is allowed by international law” in those waters and will not back off.
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