BEIJING’S new policy paper outlining plans to boost China’s military presence in Asia landed with a thud in Washington, with administration officials and analysts taking turns to either criticise the document for its messages of expansive powers, dismiss it as nothing new or simply ignore it.
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Said Ms Yun Sun, senior associate with the East Asia Programme at the Stimson Centre in Washington: “Previous papers were released in different months, so it’s hard to verify that China intentionally chose the timing as a response to the US recent positions on the South China Sea. However, Beijing certainly understands this is the week for the Shangri-La Dialogue. This is hardly a coincidence.”
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