U.S. Pacific Commander to Visit China to Discuss South China
File Photo: the Head of the U.S. Pacific Command Harry B. Harris Jr.
While China angers over U.S. warship USS Lassen illegally entering waters near ZhubiReef, part of China’s Nansha Islands in the South China Sea on Tuesday, the Head of theU.S. Pacific Command Harry B. Harris Jr., who gave the order to send the warship, is tovisit Beijing on November 2 to discuss the South China Sea disputes.
Through this visit to China, Harry B. Harris Jr. wishes to highlight and discuss the disputesin the South China Sea, and to build bilateral warning mechanism to avoid maritimeunintended conflicts, according to an anonymous insider source from the U.S. Departmentof Defense.
The news of the source was released on October 28 by the official account of CNR onWeibo, a twitter-like social media platform in China.
By sending a warship to patrol the adjacent waters off Chinese islands in the South ChinaSea, the United States was making a dangerous attempt to test China's bottom line inprotecting its sovereign rights.
China’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday expressed "strong discontent" and "resoluteopposition" over the patrol of U.S. warship. Spokesperson Lu Kang urged the U.S. to“immediately correct its wrongdoing” on October 27.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Yesui has summoned U.S. ambassador to China MaxBaucus on the evening of October 27 to protest over the issue.
China has sent missile destroyer Lanzhou and patrolling destroyer Taizhou to warn thetrespassing U.S. warship on the same day