War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said.
The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive rhetoric towards China from America's new administration.
They communicated a view from inside the Central Military Commission, which has overall authority of China’s armed forces.
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Quoted in the South China Morning Post, the official from the Commission’s Defence Mobilisation Department wrote: “A war ‘within the president’s term’ or ‘war breaking out tonight’ are not just slogans, they are becoming a practical reality.”
The official also called for military deployments in the tense South and East China Seas and for a missile defence system to guard the Korean peninsula, another regional hotspot, the Post reported.
The US should also reconsider its strategy in the Asia-Pacific region, the official wrote.
World news in pictures
World news in pictures
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1/46 26 January 2017
Australian activists attend a protest held to denounce the celebration of Australia Day, which many indigenous people call 'Invasion Day' in Adelaide, Australia. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, marking the arrival of the first British convict fleet in 1788. Some argue that the day marks the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people, so it is not a day to be celebrated
EPA
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2/46 26 January 2017
Australian activists attend a protest held to denounce the celebration of Australia Day, which many indigenous people call 'Invasion Day' in Adelaide, Australia. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, marking the arrival of the first British convict fleet in 1788. Some argue that the day marks the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people, so it is not a day to be celebrated
EPA
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3/46 26 January 2017
Australian activists attend a protest held to denounce the celebration of Australia Day, which many indigenous people call 'Invasion Day' in Adelaide, Australia. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, marking the arrival of the first British convict fleet in 1788. Some argue that the day marks the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people, so it is not a day to be celebrated
EPA
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4/46 26 January 2017
Australian activists attend a protest held to denounce the celebration of Australia Day, which many indigenous people call 'Invasion Day' in Adelaide, Australia. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, marking the arrival of the first British convict fleet in 1788. Some argue that the day marks the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people, so it is not a day to be celebrated
EPA
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5/46 26 January 2017
Australian activists attend a protest held to denounce the celebration of Australia Day, which many indigenous people call 'Invasion Day' in Adelaide, Australia. Australia Day is celebrated on 26 January, marking the arrival of the first British convict fleet in 1788. Some argue that the day marks the start of the dispossession of Indigenous people, so it is not a day to be celebrated
EPA
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6/46 25 January 2017
Johanna Konta of Britain leaves the court after being defeated by Serena Williams of the USA, after their Women's Singles quarterfinal match at the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis tournament in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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7/46 26 January 2017
German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a session of the German Bundestag (lower house of parliament) in Berlin
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8/46 26 January 2017
A Bangladeshi protester shows shells from tear gas and rubber bullets during a protest against the construction of a coal-fired power plant in Dhaka
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9/46 26 January 2017
Newly sworn-in Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen is surrounded by lawmakers in the parliament in the Austrian capital Vienna
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10/46 26 January 2017
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde visits the Centre for Domestic Violence Prevention at St. Agnes Academy Wabiggalo in the Makindye division in Kampala, Uganda
Stephen Jaffe/IMF via Getty Images
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11/46 26 January 2017
A man warms himself in the steam rising from a manhole in Paris early, after a week of unusually low temperatures
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12/46 26 January 2017
An Indian Navy contingent marches past during the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi. Motorbike stunt riders and herds of camels wowed the crowds gathered in the centre of New Delhi to celebrate Republic Day, an annual showcase of India's military hardware and cultural diversity
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13/46 26 January 2017
Indian school children perform in the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath in New Delhi.
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14/46 25 January 2017
People watch a forest fire in Santa Olga, 240 km south of Santiago. The Chilean government declared a state of emergency in several central areas due to forest fires that have destroyed more than 140,000 hectares of woods so far
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15/46 25 January 2017
Syrian women take pictures as they ride a train travelling through Aleppo's devastated eastern districts for the first time in more than four years
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16/46 25 January 2017
A Syrian woman peers out the window as she sits in a train travelling through Aleppo's devastated eastern districts for the first time in more than four yearsIt is the train's first such trip since rebels overran east Aleppo in the summer of 2012, effectively dividing the northern city into a regime-held west and a rebel-controlled east
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17/46 25 January 2017
Keystone XL oil pipeline owner TransCanada's President and CEO Russ Girling arrives at the CIBC World Markets
Reuters
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18/46 25 January 2017
Construction along the US-Mexico border wall in San Ysidro, California. US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to begin the process of building a wall along the US-Mexico border and is expected to sign an executive order that would suspend the United States' broader refugee program for 125 days
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19/46 25 January 2017
A Border Patrol vehicle sits along the US-Mexico border wall in San Ysidro, California
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20/46 25 January 2017
Pedestrians head to the port of entry station along the US-Mexico border wall in Tijuana, Mexico. US President Donald Trump issued an executive order to begin the process of building a wall along the US-Mexico border and is expected to sign an executive order that would suspend the United States' broader refugee program for 125 days
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21/46 25 January 2017
Chapecoense soccer players, Neto, goalkeeper Follmann, in the wheelchair, Alan Ruschel, and radio soccer announcer Rafael Henzel, all who survived a plane crash, at a friendly match between Brazil and Colombia at the Nilton Santos stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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22/46 25 January 2017
Brazil's Robinho greets Chapecoense players Jackson Follmann, Alan Ruschel and Neto before a friendly match between Brazil and Colombia
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23/46 25 January 2017
Chapocoense survivors Jackson Follmann, Alan Ruschel and Neto are honoured before a friendly match between Brazil and Colombia
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24/46 25 January 2017
A woman wearing the Colombian colours sells fruit on the street in Cartagena, Colombia
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25/46 25 January 2017
A woman wearing the Colombian colours sells fruit on the street in Cartagena, Colombia
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26/46 25 January 2017
With the White House in the foreground, protesters unfurl a banner on top of a crane at the construction site of the former Washington Post office building, in Washington, DC. The protestors are with the Greenpeace organization
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27/46 25 January 2017
Protesters unfurl a banner that reads 'Resist' at the construction site of the former Washington Post building in Washington, after police say protesters climbed a crane at the site refusing to allow workers to work in the area
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28/46 22 January 2017
ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) soldiers patrol in front of the Second Battalion Camp in Farafegny, Gambia
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29/46 21 January 2017
The players of Chapecoense survivors of the accident Neto, Jackson Follmann, Alan Ruschel, receive the trophy of the South American Cup, just before the friendly match between Chapecoense and Palmeiras in Chapeco
EPA
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30/46 21 January 2017
Chapecoense (in green) and Palmeiras players pose before a charity match
Reuters
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31/46 21 January 2017
Fans of Chapecoense pictured before a charity match between Chapecoense and Palmeiras. The banner reads: 'Thanks Palmeiras and Atletico de Medellin!'
Reuters
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32/46 21 January 2017
The remains of a car are seen at the scene where a car bomb exploded late on Saturday close to the recently re-opened Italian embassy in Tripoli, Libya
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33/46 21 January 2017
People gather at the scene where a car bomb exploded late on Saturday close to the recently re-opened Italian embassy in Tripoli, Libya
Reuters
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34/46 21 January 2017
Former Gambian president Yahya Jammeh boards a private jet before departing Banjul airport, Gambia
Reuters
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35/46 21 January 2017
Burnt land is seen after forest fires in a town called Cauquenes in the Maule region, south of Chile
Reuters
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36/46 21 January 2017
View of a forest fire in Pumanque, 140 km south of Santiago
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37/46 21 January 2017
The Chilean government declared a state of emergency in several central areas due to forest fires that have destroyed more than 35,000 hectares of woods so far
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38/46 21 January 2017
A general view of tulips on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. During National Tulip Day, the official opening of the tulip season, visitors can pick the flowers for free in a specially created garden
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39/46 21 January 2017
A general view of tulips on the Dam Square in Amsterdam. During National Tulip Day, the official opening of the tulip season, visitors can pick the flowers for free in a specially created garden.
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40/46 21 January 2017
People comfort each other in front of a school building in Budapest, Hungary
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41/46 21 January 2017
A black flag waves at the entrance of Szinyeri Merse Pal Grammar School in Budapest, Hungary
AP
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42/46 21 January 2017
Candles and flowers are placed at the Szinyei Merse Pal High-school in Budapest, to commemorate the victims of a bus accident in Italy.
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43/46 21 January 2017
Survivors of the bus crash that killed 16 people stand outside a hotel, in Verona, Italy
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44/46 21 January 2017
A burned Hungarian bus after an accident at 'Verona Est' highway's exit in Verona, Italy. Italian police reported that at least 16 people died in the bus crash as Hungarian students were reportedly returning to Budapest from a school trip from France. According to reports, 55 people, 39 of whom were injured and taken to nearby hospitals, were on board the bus during the incident
EPA
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45/46 21 January 2017
A coach carrying Hungarian teenagers home from a school trip crashed and burst into flames on the motorway in northern Italy, killing 16 people, firefighters said. Some 39 injured were taken to hospital following the accident near Verona on Friday night, which occurred when the vehicle smashed into a bridge pillar
Getty
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46/46 21 January 2017
Protester carries an effigy of President Donald Trump during the Women's March in London, England
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Mr Trump and members of his administration have consistently voiced a hard line against China. Mr Trump has branded the country a “currency manipulator” and accusing the country of underhand trading and economic tactics.
But more significantly in security terms, Mr Trump has also ignored the US’s longstanding ‘One China’ policy, publicly engaging with the President of Taiwan, Tsai Ing-wen, in a move that was hugely antagonising for Beijing.
China strongly regards Taiwan as part of its territory and the US has tacitly respected this for decades, but Mr Trump signalled a departure from this policy.
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has also advocated a US naval blockade of artificial Chinese islands in the South China Sea – which Beijing could interpret as an act of war.
Further suggestions China is preparing for conflict emerged this week, with unconfirmed reports the military has moved long range missiles closer to the north east border in Heilongjiang province -- within firing range of the US.
Chinese social media has carried pictures claiming to show the Dongfeng-41 advanced intercontinental ballistic missile system near the Russian border.
Provocative state-run tabloid The Global Times suggested the People’s Liberation Army could have leaked the photos on social media as a warning to Mr Trump.
However, Chinese President Xi Jinping has also recently called for the reduction of nuclear weapons.
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