- China, Russia Train for War With America, Ex-military Officials Allege
China and Russia may be devising a plan to attack U.S. forces in the event of an imminent war breaking out on the neighboring Korean Peninsula, according to two former military officials.
Lieutenant General Wang Hongguang, the former deputy commander of the western Nanjing Military Region, warned “the war on the Korean Peninsula might break out anytime between now and March next year.”
His comments came during a conference hosted Saturday by ruling Communist Party newspaper, The Global Times.
The following day, the nationalist outlet expanded on the retired general’s remarks with insight from Chinese military expert, commentator and author Song Zhongping, who said China could potentially engage U.S. forces if they posed a threat.
“China should be psychologically prepared for a potential Korean war, and the Northeast China regions should be mobilised for that,” Wang said Saturday, according to The Global Times.
“Such mobilisation is not to launch a war, but for defensive purposes.”
Song, himself a former member of the Chinese military’s Second Artillery Corps, which was later transformed into the Rocket Force, told The Global Times on Sunday that such “defensive purposes” would likely include contingency plans to retaliate against any breach of Chinese sovereignty by invading U.S. forces.
In a separate interview, Song also said that high-tech anti-missile drills held that same day by China and Russia in Beijing were actually a joint effort by the U.S.’s two leading military competitors to defend against a potential attack order by President Donald Trump, who has increasingly feuded with North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un since taking office in January.
Both China and Russia have joined the U.S. in condemning North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic weapons arsenal, which the country argued was necessary to defend against a U.S. attempt to overthrow Kim, but Beijing and Moscow have staunchly opposed an expansionist U.S. military in the Asia-Pacific.
“The main target of the joint drills between China and Russia is the U.S., which has both ballistic and cruise missiles that could pose a real threat to both Beijing and Moscow,” Song told the South China Morning Post on Sunday.
“Both China and Russia wanted to use these joint anti-missile drills for strategic deterrence. They want to push the U.S. to withdraw its Terminal High Altitude Area Defence from the Korean peninsula,” he added.
Newsweek
