US warns Beijing on South China Sea
Washington, June 1: The Pentagon has ratcheted up rhetoric about China's militarisation of islands in the South China Sea, even as President Donald Trump's administration presses Beijing for cooperation on North Korea, the media reported.
When asked by a reporter about the ability of the US to "blow apart" one of China's controversial man-made islands, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff, said on Thursday: "I would just tell you that the US military has had a lot of experience in the Western Pacific taking down small islands."
His comments come amid growing tension in highly contested region, as the US ramps up freedom of navigation operations in response to China's steady militarisation of its artificial islands, reports CNN.
The US Navy sailed two warships within 12 nautical miles of the disputed Paracel Islands last week, the first time it has used more than one vessel in the operations, which are meant to demonstrate the right of free passage in international waters.
On Wednesday, Admiral Harry Harris, outgoing head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said China was the US's "biggest long-term challenge" in the region.
The Chinese government has reacted furiously to the recent US statements, CNN reported.
At her regular press conference on Thursday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said the US accusing China of militarising the region was "like a thief crying, 'Stop thief!'".
"Why does the US choose to sail every now and then close to Chinese South China Sea islands and reefs? What is the US trying to do?" she asked.
The US regularly conducts freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea.
During the latest operation, the US said a Chinese ship operated in an unprofessional manner close to the American Navy ships.
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MI post 205 for five against DC
New Delhi, Apr 13 (PTI): Kuldeep Yadav's artistry was well complemented by young leg-spinner Vipraj Nigam's happy knack of picking wickets before Tilak Varma's attractive half-century took Mumbai Indians to 205 for 5 in an IPL match here on Sunday.
Tilak (59 off 33 balls) was the only MI batter to capitalise on a good start, hitting six fours and three sixes and making amends for his poor scores in some of the earlier games. Naman Dheer (38 not out off 17 balls) then used the long handle to prop up the total.
On a track where stroke-making wasn't very difficult, the two wrist spinners from Uttar Pradesh snared four wickets between them while giving away 64 runs in their eight overs, which could be termed as brilliant considering the conditions.
The two spinners actually decreased the pace of their deliveries, allowing them to slightly grip off the surface and some of the MI batters perished while going for risky shots.
Rohit Sharma's (18 off 12 balls) wretched IPL form continued as young Vipraj (2/41 in 4 overs) found him plumb in-front with a googly that he missed while trying to go for a slog sweep over the cow-corner. He now has 56 runs from five innings.
For Vipraj, it is some kind of an achievement getting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in back-to-back games.
Rohit's opening partner Ryan Rickleton (41 off 25 balls) did show spark but the seasoned Kuldeep (2/23 in 4 overs) seemed to have tied a thread to the white Kookaburra, controlling its length like a yo-yo.
Kuldeep flighted the deliveries, there was late dip and Rickleton perished while trying to play for the turn but it was a flipper that went straight.
In case of Suryakumar Yadav (40 off 27 balls), who had just started looking dangerous, Kuldeep decreased the pace and bowled the googly as the bat face turned for India's T20 skipper. The result was a simple catch in the deep.
Tilak and Naman then added 62 runs in 5.3 overs overs to take the team past 200-run mark.
