China urges "crisis maker" U.S. to clarify bio-military activities

BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Thursday called the United States the true creator of bio-crises and urged the country to clarify its bio-military activities.

Noting that biological weapons are weapons of mass destruction, Tan Kefei, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, said that the recently uncovered bio-military activities conducted by the United States in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) have become a source of concern for members of the international community, including China.

"The Chinese side believes that this is a major security issue, which the U.S. side must clarify," Tan said.

The United States is the true maker of bio-crises, the spokesperson said, referencing solid evidence of the U.S. military using germ weapons in the Korean Peninsula, including the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's area bordering China, in the 1950s, a fact that American historians have admitted in public. He also cited the U.S. military's use of Agent Orange, during the Vietnam War, causing irreversible harm to the people and environment of Vietnam.

The United States is the only country in the world that has ever used weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, against other countries, Tan said.

"There is a growing number of realistic questions that can't be evaded," the spokesperson said, pointing out that the United States has revealed that it has 336 bio-labs in 30 countries.

According to the U.S. side, biological research facilities have been established in Ukraine supported by the United States and the United States has worked with the Ukrainians to prevent the research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces, Tan said.

The spokesperson said the people of the world have the right to ask questions of the United States. What is the relationship between the U.S. Department of Defense and the overseas biological laboratories of the United States? If the U.S. labs in Ukraine are only for scientific research purposes, why is the U.S. Department of Defense so deeply involved? Why have rare-disease outbreaks often occurred in the areas where the U.S. military's overseas biological laboratories are located?

He said that the United States must give clear answers to the aforementioned questions, which it cannot evade.

"Bio-military activities are a matter concerning international peace and security, and the security interests of all countries," Tan said.

"As a country that was once a victim of biological weapons, China solemnly demands that the U.S. side take a responsible attitude, seriously face the concerns and questions from the international community, make comprehensive and detailed clarifications on its bio-military activities, and accept multilateral verification," the spokesperson said.