During his visit to Asia, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. is committed to “freedom of navigation” in the disputed waters in the South China Sea. But, he ruled out a military response. Mattis said to reporters in Tokyo, “At this time, we do not see any need for dramatic military moves at all.” Last December, China conducted takeoff and landing drills from its aircraft carrier Liaoning in the South China Sea, according to the state news agency Xinhua. The move followed a phone call between then President-elect Donald Trump and the president of Taiwan. China has long considered Taiwan as a province of China. During his confirmation hearing, Rex Tillerson, the new U.S. Secretary of State, called China’s island building an “illegal” activity. He said, “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops; and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.” The comment drew sharp reaction from China. Lu Kang is a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry. In his daily briefing on Jan. 12, he said that China “has full right to conduct any kind of normal activities on its own territory within its sovereignty.” The Global Times is a state-run news organization. It published a strongly worded editorial saying, “Unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish.”
Title: Is China Ready for Possible Conflict with US?
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/china_conflict.m4a' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='Is China Ready for Possible Conflict with US?' data-article-id='2188'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='17042'>During his visit to Asia, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said the U.S. is committed to “freedom of navigation” in the disputed waters in the South China Sea.</span> <span data-start-time='17042' data-end-time='22667'>But, he ruled out a military response.</span> <span data-start-time='22667' data-end-time='35375'>Mattis said to reporters in Tokyo, “At this time, we do not see any need for dramatic military moves at all.”</span> <span data-start-time='35375' data-end-time='53083'>Last December, China conducted takeoff and landing drills from its aircraft carrier Liaoning in the South China Sea, according to the state news agency Xinhua.</span> <span data-start-time='53083' data-end-time='63042'>The move followed a phone call between then President-elect Donald Trump and the president of Taiwan.</span> <span data-start-time='63042' data-end-time='69625'>China has long considered Taiwan as a province of China.</span> <span data-start-time='69625' data-end-time='83479'>During his confirmation hearing, Rex Tillerson, the new U.S. Secretary of State, called China’s island building an “illegal” activity.</span> <span data-start-time='83479' data-end-time='101521'>He said, “We’re going to have to send China a clear signal that, first, the island-building stops; and, second, your access to those islands also is not going to be allowed.”</span> <span data-start-time='101521' data-end-time='107146'>The comment drew sharp reaction from China.</span> <span data-start-time='107146' data-end-time='113438'>Lu Kang is a spokesman for China’s Foreign Ministry.</span> <span data-start-time='113438' data-end-time='130042'>In his daily briefing on Jan. 12, he said that China “has full right to conduct any kind of normal activities on its own territory within its sovereignty.”</span> <span data-start-time='130042' data-end-time='135833'>The Global Times is a state-run news organization.</span> <span data-start-time='135833' data-end-time='155792'>It published a strongly worded editorial saying, “Unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish.”</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/china_conflict.jpg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=8072 data-hint-location='35375' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/what_does_drill_mean.m4a'>What does drill mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='training activity'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/phone_call.m4a'><span>phone call</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/disputed_waters.m4a'><span>disputed waters</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/training_activity.m4a'><span>training activity</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/illegal_trade.m4a'><span>illegal trade</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=8073 data-hint-location='69625' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/what_did_the_us_secretary_of_state_say_is_illegal.m4a'>What did the U.S. Secretary of State say is illegal?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='island building'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/phone_call.m4a'><span>phone call</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/island_building.m4a'><span>island building</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/news_organization.m4a'><span>news organization</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/aircraft_carrier.m4a'><span>aircraft carrier</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=8074 data-hint-location='130042' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/the_global_times_is_a_state_run__blank__organization.m4a'>The Global Times is a state run <span class='blank'>news</span> organization.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='news'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/entertainment.m4a'><span>entertainment</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/social.m4a'><span>social</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/political.m4a'><span>political</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/1669/news.m4a'><span>news</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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