This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
China has launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, only hours after U.S. President Joe Biden made his address at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City this week.
The Ministry of Defense of the People's Republic of China announced Wednesday it fired an intercontinental ballistic missile into the Pacific Ocean hours after Biden had called for security in the region.
The China announcement claimed the missile was launched as part of its military training routine, contained a dummy warhead, and was not targeted at any specific nation.
During his U.N. address, Biden said the U.S. needs to uphold its principles to manage competition with China.
However, Biden was caught on hot mic during the Quad Summit, which included Australia, India, Japan, and the U.S., stating that China is "testing" the U.S. over its stance with Taiwan and its growing aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
"We believe Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges, to minimize the turbulence in China diplomatic relationships, and he's also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interest. China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region. It is true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia, and the Taiwan Straits. It is true across the scope of our relationship, including on economic and technology issues," Biden said.
In a joint statement from the White House, the Quad leaders state they are reaffirming their commitment to keeping the region stable and secure.
"Each of our governments has committed to working through our respective budgetary processes to secure robust funding for Quad priorities in the Indo-Pacific region to ensure an enduring impact. We intend to work with our legislatures to deepen interparliamentary exchanges, and encourage other stakeholders to deepen engagement with Quad counterparts," the White House said.
"President Xi Jinping and President Joe Biden had a successful meeting in San Francisco last November, and the two leaders talked on the phone this April. They have set the direction for a sound, stable and sustainable China-U.S. relationship. At present, there is a stabler momentum in the overall and defense relations between China and the US. The two militaries maintain high-level strategic communication, policy communication, institutionalized dialogues and exchanges in specialized fields. These engagements could help enhance mutual understanding, avoid miscalculation, and manage and control risks," Zhang said.
Zhang stated that the U.S. would have to change its perception of China, and make "efforts" to have a relationship of mutual respect.
"We require the U.S. side to recalibrate its strategic perception on China, return to a sensible and practical China policy, and respect China's major concerns. The U.S. should make concerted efforts with China in the principle of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence and win-win cooperation to stabilize and improve the mil-mil relationship through candid, effective and constructive dialogues and cooperation," Zhang said.
