— China blasts the US for spreading fake news amid Ukraine conflict
ISLAMABAD: China Monday called on Pakistan and India to launch a thorough investigation into the violation into Pakistani airspace by an intruding Indian supersonic missile.
Addressing a weekly news briefing on Monday in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian urged to establish a notification mechanism in time to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and miscalculation.
“We call on relevant countries to have dialogue and communication as soon as possible and launch a thorough investigation into this incident, strengthen information sharing and establish a notification mechanism in time to prevent the recurrence of such incidents and miscalculations,” he added.
He said that Pakistan and India are two important countries in South Asia and they share responsibility to uphold regional security and stability. Lijian also said that the Chinese side has noted the information regarding the airspace violation incident.
Earlier, a Chinese former defence attache in South Asian countries asked the world community to probe Indian so-called clarification on supersonic projectile crash into Pakistani territory.
He pointed out what excuse India may find, this was the unprovoked violation of Pakistani airspace, which should be strongly condemned.
Pakistan strongly protested and condemned last week’s violation of its airspace by a supersonic flying object of Indian origin. Pakistan has also called for a thorough and transparent investigation of the incident which reflected India’s disregard for air safety and regional peace and security.
The Foreign Office said in a statement on Saturday that this serious matter cannot be addressed with the simplistic explanation proffered by the Indian authorities, and Pakistan demands a joint probe to accurately establish the facts surrounding the incident.
The Pakistani demand comes after India said on Friday it had accidentally fired the missile into Pakistan on Wednesday because of a “technical malfunction” during routine maintenance, and it would hold an internal inquiry.
The Foreign Office also listed a set of questions and issues, asking the Indian authorities to explain the measures and procedures in place to prevent accidental missile launches, and if the missile was indeed handled by its armed forces or some rogue elements are given the profound level of incompetence.
“The grave nature of the incident raises several fundamental questions regarding security protocols and technical safeguards against the accidental or unauthorised launch of missiles in a nuclearised environment,” the Foreign Office added.
China blasts US for spreading fake news amid Ukraine conflict
The Chinese Foreign Ministry slammed the United States on Monday for spreading disinformation against China on the conflict in Ukraine.
Spokesperson Zhao Lijian offered the response while refuting the claim of some U.S. officials that Russia asked China for military equipment.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Monday also rejected the claim.
“The U.S. has been spreading false information against China on the Ukraine issue with sinister motives,” Zhao told a regular press briefing in Beijing.
He added that any attempts to distort China’s intentions and spread rumors to smear China are “irresponsible and immoral” since they aim to provoke confrontation and take advantage of the conflict for profits.
Noting that sanctions are never an effective resolution, Zhao said China opposes any form of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction by the U.S. side and will resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and individuals.
Zhao also urged the U.S. to release more details about its biological laboratories in Ukraine and open them for an independent investigation of international experts.
Russia has said that recently it found that the U.S. uses those facilities for military biological programs.
“Faced with the documents, pictures, physical items and other evidence found by Russia in Ukraine, the U.S. side only dismisses them as ‘disinformation,’ which is hardly convincing,” Zhao said.
