BEIJING, July 28. /TASS/. A possible major incident in the South China Sea mentioned by US authorities may occur exclusively on the US initiative, Chinese military expert Song Zhongping said on Thursday.
"The so-called major incident is exactly a US-made conflict. While [US Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely] Ratner claimed 'a major incident or accident in the region' triggered by China is a matter of time, it exactly shows that it is the US that may send shockwaves in the South China Sea sooner or later," The Global Times newspaper quoted him as saying.
According to the expert, from time to time, US politicians make alarming statements that only aggravate tensions. He reiterated that before the 2020 presidential election in the US, then President Donald Trump announced that his administration could take the risk of attacking with drones the islands in the South China Sea controlled by Beijing.
"Those were dangerous provocations. If the US really does so, a military clash is bound to occur between China and the US in the South China Sea and beyond," the expert noted.
On Tuesday, Ratner said that the actions of China’s People’s Liberation Army were fraught with causing "a major incident or accident in the region." According to him, over the past five years, the number of "unsafe" interceptions of Western warplanes and warships by the Chinese military has sharply increased.