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<p data-start="0" data-end="259"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">China on Thursday strongly objected to a recent Pentagon report that alleged Beijing was attempting to exploit easing border tensions with India to weaken ties between New Delhi and Washington, while simultaneously expanding defence cooperation with Pakistan.</span></p>
<p data-start="261" data-end="617"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Responding to the report, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said it misrepresented China&rsquo;s defence policy and was aimed at creating discord between China and other countries. He accused the United States of using such reports as a pretext to justify maintaining military dominance and said China firmly opposed the claims made in the document.</span></p>
<p data-start="619" data-end="1311"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Lin stated that Beijing views its relationship with India from a long-term and strategic perspective. He emphasised that China remains willing to strengthen communication, enhance mutual trust, expand cooperation and manage differences appropriately in order to advance a stable and healthy bilateral relationship. On references to the Line of Actual Control in the report, Lin said the boundary issue was strictly a bilateral matter between China and India and added that the current border situation remains generally stable with established communication mechanisms in place. He also criticised what he described as irresponsible and groundless comments by external countries on the issue.</span></p>
<p data-start="1313" data-end="1934"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Separately, Chinese Defence Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang also criticised the report, particularly its references to China&rsquo;s cooperation with Pakistan in defence and space sectors and the suggestion that Beijing was considering establishing a military base there. Zhang said such reports are released annually and amount to interference in China&rsquo;s internal affairs. He accused the United States of maliciously misinterpreting China&rsquo;s national defence policy, making unfounded speculations about its military development and exaggerating the so-called &ldquo;China military threat&rdquo; to mislead the international community.</span></p>
<p data-start="1936" data-end="2128"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">Zhang said China expressed strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to the report and urged the United States to stop fabricating false narratives and provoking confrontation and antagonism.</span></p>
<p data-start="2130" data-end="2631"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Pentagon report, submitted to the US Congress, claimed that China was seeking to capitalise on de-escalating tensions along the India-China border to stabilise bilateral relations and prevent deeper strategic ties between India and the United States. It referred to a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in October 2024, which followed an agreement to disengage from remaining standoff points along the Line of Actual Control.</span></p>
<p data-start="2633" data-end="2918"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to the report, the Xi-Modi meeting marked the beginning of regular high-level engagements between the two countries, with discussions covering border management and broader bilateral issues such as direct flights, visa facilitation and exchanges of academics and journalists.</span></p>
<p data-start="2920" data-end="3205"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">The document also claimed that China has expanded the definition of its &ldquo;core interests&rdquo; to include Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands and Arunachal Pradesh, and alleged that Beijing was actively considering additional overseas military facilities, including in Pakistan.</span></p>
<p data-start="3207" data-end="3380" data-is-last-node="" data-is-only-node=""><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino, serif; font-size: 12pt;">China has rejected these assertions, reiterating that its defence policy is defensive in nature and that its regional engagements are not directed against any third country.</span></p>
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Beijing slams US report alleging bid to weaken India-US ties, expand Pakistan role

China rejects Pentagon claims on India ties

Beijing slams US report alleging bid to weaken India-US ties, expand Pakistan role

December 27, 2025 | 01:20 IST