US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm Scott Swift addresses an Australian National University security conference in Canberra, Australia on Thursday. (AP Photo)MELBOURNE – A spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry has downplayed a US admiral’s stated willingness to use nuclear weapons in a US-China conflict. The US Pacific Fleet commander, addressing a security conference in Australia, said in answer to a question on Thursday that he would be prepared to launch a nuclear strike on China if President Donald Trump so ordered. The fleet spokesman later said the question was asked as an "outrageous hypothetical". Adm Swift's answer reaffirmed the principle of civilian control over the military and was based on an "outrageous hypothetical" in the question, Pacific Fleet spokesman Captain Charlie Brown told Reuters.

Source: Bangkok Post July 28, 2017 11:15 UTC