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Shanahan to call out China over South China Sea
By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Published May 31, 2019
Acting U.S. Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan, left, meets with China's Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe during a meeting on the sidelines of the 18th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-la Dialogue, an annual defense and security forum in Asia, in Singapore, Friday, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Lolita Baldor)
Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan says he will call out China's bad behavior in a speech Saturday, including what he termed the excessive militarization of manmade islands in the South China Sea.
Shanahan says China's installation of long runways and surface-to-air missiles on the outposts amounts to "overkill" and goes beyond defensive measures.
He spoke to reporters just before meeting with Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at the Shangri-La Dialogue national security conference.
His remarks underscore America's frayed relations with China, as the Trump administration wages a trade war with Beijing, imposes sanctions on Chinese tech giant Huawei and approves a weapons sale to Taiwan, the self-ruled island the Communist mainland claims as its own territory.
The Pentagon says Shanahan and Wei discussed ways to build better military relations.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/shanahan-to-call-out-china-over-south-china-sea