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Australia asks China to explain 'extraordinary' military build-up
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clygvl01y5roAustralia's defence minister Richard Marles has called on China to explain why it needs to have "such an extraordinary military build-up".
He said Beijing needs to provide greater transparency and reassurance as it is the "fundamental issue" for the region.
(snip)
On Sunday morning, Marles asserted that "what we have seen from China is the single biggest increase in military capability and build up in conventional sense, by any country since the end of the Second World War".
(snip)
Answering a question on a highly-scrutinised Chinese military exercise conducted near Australia and New Zealand's waters in February, Marles said that while it was "disruptive, and we believe that it could have been done in a better way", ultimately "China was acting in accordance with international law".
(snip)