Mark Esper: China became more aggressive, trying to use COVID-19 for propaganda purposes

Amid tensions between two world powers, the United States of America and China. A new development has come up, United States defense secretary Mark Esper quoted China as more aggressive during the coronavirus pandemic, he also added that China has deployed troops along the Line of Actual Control with India and is acting out in a way that is "inconsistent" with international norms. Mark Esper said China is using coronavirus pandemic for its advantages and Propaganda purpose. "What we have seen with regard to what happened in the last seven months coming as part of COVID, if you will, we've seen China become more aggressive, trying to use the tragedy, of COVID-19 to their advantage for propaganda purposes. They have really overplayed their hand and we've seen them continue to try and exercise this muscle in the South China Sea," he said on August 5.

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South China sea matter

Around 1.3 million square kilometer area of south China sea is claimed by mainland China as its own sovereign territory. Not only this, but China is also building military bases on artificial islands on the region claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam. While Aspen Security Forum discussion Mr. Esper said that the Chinese sank a Vietnamese fishing vessel a few months ago.

"They continue to twist the arms of others. They’ve deployed troops along the line of actual control in India. We see them acting out in a way that is inconsistent with, you know, international norms, rules of behavior if you will, and many of our allies and partners are reacting as well," he said.

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According to Mr. Esper, the best way to take on Chinese aggression is to multilateralism efforts against Beijing. "The US being unable to travel, we found new ways to communicate and to do it in a multilateral way. We need to continue to advance that. We need to multilateralism. Maybe not officially, right? But in terms of knitting things up so we talk more as a group," he said.

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(With inputs from agency)