The United States' actions on Taiwan and the South China Sea are hardly conducive to maintaining stability in the region, a senior Chinese military official said on Saturday, responding to comments by acting U.S. Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan. "He (Shanahan) has been expressing inaccurate views and repeating old tunes about the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea," Shao Yuanming, a senior official of the People's Liberation Army, told reporters after Shanahan's speech. "If anybody wants to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will protect the country's sovereignty at all costs." However, Shao responded by saying it was the United States that was destabilising the region with its recent actions. In May, a U.S. warship sailed near the disputed Scarborough Shoal claimed by China in the South China Sea, angering Beijing at a time of tension over trade between the world's two biggest economies.

Source: Libya Today June 01, 2019 21:34 UTC