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Esper Calls Out China's 'Rule-Breaking,' Vows to Protect Pacific Norms

Carla Babb

   WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has warned the
   world's "free and open" system forged in the wake of World War II is
   under attack by what he calls China's "rule-breaking behavior" in the
   Indo-Pacific region.

   Esper spoke in Hawaii, home to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, ahead of
   travel to Guam and Palau to take part in ceremonies marking the 75th
   anniversary of the end of World War II.

   Esper called the Indo-Pacific region the "epicenter" of great power
   competition, vowing not to "cede an inch" to countries that threaten
   international freedoms, in an apparent dig at China.

   "The People's Liberation Army continues to pursue an aggressive
   modernization plan to achieve a world-class military by the middle of
   the century," Esper said. "This will undoubtedly embolden the PLA's
   provocative behavior in the South and East China Seas and anywhere else
   the Chinese government has deemed critical to its interests."

   Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian told news media Thursday
   that the U.S. has "continued to provoke tensions and undermine China's
   sovereignty and security." He added that current diplomatic relations
   between the two countries have been "severely damaged."

   China has made expansive claims over the South China Sea, basing
   military weapons and aircraft on artificial islands built atop reefs to
   bolster its territorial claims, which overlap with the territorial
   claims of other nations.

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