China Dismisses U.S. Criticism of South China Sea Missile Tests

(Bloomberg) -- China's military said its recent “live-fire drill” in the South China Sea didn't target any country and wasn't held to achieve specific objectives, after the U.S. denounced the missile tests as “coercive acts.”

China fired at least one missile into the sea last weekend and was expected to continue testing until July 3, NBC News reported Tuesday, citing anonymous U.S. officials. The launch occurred while U.S. President Donald Trump was in the region for a series of summits, including a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on resuming trade talks.

“The relevant report does not match the facts,” the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said in a fax to Bloomberg News. It said the drill was a part of its annual training plan organized by the Southern Theater Command.

The Chinese statement refers to an exercise “in nearby waters” of Hainan Island, while Pentagon spokesman Dave Eastburn said the missile launch was near the Spratly Islands, roughly 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) south of Hainan in the South China Sea.

China asserts control of more than 80% of the South China Sea, overlapping with claims by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Taiwan.

"The Pentagon was aware of the Chinese missile launch from the man-made structures in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands," Eastburn said in an email earlier this week. "What's truly disturbing about this act is that it's in direct contradiction to President Xi's statement in the Rose Garden in 2015 when he pledged to the U.S., the Asia-Pacific region, and the world, that he would not militarize those man-made outposts."

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Gao Yuan in Beijing at ygao199@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Stanley James

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With assistance from Bloomberg