CHINA RAISING TENSIONS ACROSS THE PACIFIC

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Friday that the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) desires closer relations with the U.S. military – and then blamed the U.S. for taking “provocative” actions that make such a close relationship difficult.

Wu said China wants to be friends, but Washington insists on such aggressive policies as supporting Taiwan, challenging China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, and monitoring Chinese military movements.

In truth, China is the party raising tensions across the Pacific – everywhere from the skies of Taiwan, which have been filled with a large number of Chinese warplanes lately, to the Philippines, which is resisting aggressive Chinese attempts to seize disputed shoals by force.