CNN:

Last weekend, Chinese warships appeared in waters off Queensland of Eastern Australia, which was perceived as being an action monitoring an ongoing joint military exercises between Australia and the United States. Local officials described this as an unfriendly and provocative move. Prior to this, we also noticed that Chinese naval vessels crossed the English Channel to conduct military exercises with their Russian counterparts. In addition, when the United States was testing the "THAAD" anti-missile system, a Chinese warship appeared in waters off Alaska. What is the motivation of China behind this series of high-profile actions? What kind of signal is China sending to the international community? Is this a new normal for the international community to accept in the process that China builds its "Blue-Water" navy? Thank you.

Wu Qian:

Let me start by saying that I do not think there is any high-profile action regarding the Chinese military. As I have mentioned just now, the PLA is actively expanding its military communications network, and widely participating in international peacekeeping, open sea escort, humanitarian aid and disaster assistance, which embodies the image and responsibilities of the military arm of a major country.

I would also like to stress that in non-territorial waters, Chinese warships, just like warships of other countries, have the right to freedom of navigation. Thank you.

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