China calls US defense strategy “groundless and untrustworthy”

Beijing has given its first official response to Washington's plan to expand the US military presence in Asia, saying it is based on a miscalculation of Beijing's intent to modernize its military. 

The plan for a new, "leaner" US military with boosted capacity in Asia — an attempt, Reuters wrote, to counter China's growing ability to check U.S. power in the region — was unveiled Thursday by President Barack Obama at the Pentagon. 

(GlobalPost reports: China warns US over new Asia-Pacific military strategy)

The US strategy document states that the growth of China's military power must be accompanied by greater clarity of its strategic intentions to avoid causing friction in the region, according to the Associated Press.

However:

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Weimin said Monday: "China's strategic intent is clear, open and transparent."

He says China is committed to peaceful development and a "defensive" policy.

Reuters quoted Liu as saying, in response to a question from state media about whether China posed a threat to US security, that: "The accusation targeting China in the document has no basis, and is fundamentally unrealistic. 

"China adheres to the path of peaceful development, an independent and peaceful foreign policy and a defensive national defense policy.

"The modernization and development of our national defense forces suit China's development and objective security needs. It is an active factor of promoting peace and stability in the region and does not present a threat to any country."

The AP cites Chinese authorities as calling the US defense strategy "groundless and untrustworthy."