China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning reacted negatively on Thursday to the recent agreement struck by the United States in the Philippines, which will allow the US access to four Filipino military bases.
"China has always believed that defense and security cooperation between countries should always be beneficial towards regional peace and stability, and should not be targeted towards or harm the interests of third parties," Mao said during a regular briefing in Beijing. She went on to warn, "the US continues to strengthen its military deployments in this region (...) endangering regional peace and stability."
The news follows United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's view that the Chinese military has been "very provocative" recently and continues a trend of tension between the two superpowers over military presence in the region.
