At a regular briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun responded to a
Reuters question about Palau’s president urging Pacific Islands Forum members to
condemn China’s missile tests. Guo said China has repeatedly explained its
position and accused Palau of repeatedly hyping the tests to coerce other forum
members and pursue a malicious agenda that will not succeed. He reiterated
China’s commitment to peaceful development, a defensive national defence policy,
and said China does not seek military expansion and is willing to work with
South Pacific states to maintain regional peace, stability and development.