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On the afternoon of March 25, the Ministry of National Defense held a regular press conference, and Colonel Ren Guoqiang, deputy director of the Information Bureau of the Ministry of National Defense and spokesman of the Ministry of National Defense, answered reporters' questions.
Reporter: According to reports, a few NATO countries have recently sent or announced the dispatch of warships to the South China Sea to carry out so-called "freedom of navigation" operations. The French defense minister announced that two ships of the French Navy have recently completed patrols in the South China Sea. German officials said they planned to send warships to Asia in August, which would return via the South China Sea but would not reach 12 nautical miles of disputed waters. Britain also announced that it will send the aircraft carrier "Queen Elizabeth" to the South China Sea this year. What is China's comment on this?
Ren Guoqiang: We pay close attention to relevant trends. At present, with the joint efforts of regional countries, the situation in the South China Sea is generally stable, and there is no so-called freedom of navigation issue at all. Regional countries and the international community have clearly seen that the security risks facing the South China Sea mainly come from outside the region. We hope that the countries concerned will make more constructive contributions to maintaining regional peace and stability, and will not cause trouble or cause trouble.
Today's world is not the world of a hundred years ago, and today's China is not the China of a hundred years ago. China has always respected the freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed by all countries in the South China Sea in accordance with international law, but firmly opposes using this as a pretext to jeopardize the sovereignty and security of littoral States. Under the great changes in the world that have not occurred in a hundred years, it is hoped that the relevant countries will clearly understand the general trend of the times of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, safeguard common interests in consultation, co-construction and sharing, and work together to maintain regional and world peace, stability and prosperity.
Source: Ministry of National Defense Network Responsible Editor: Wang Feng
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