A U.S. defense official said Wednesday that he expressed concern to Chinese officials about their buildup of missiles aimed at rival Taiwan and said Beijing might be damaging its own interests by increasing regional tensions. Undersecretary of Defense Douglas Feith was in Beijing for annual defense consultations, which came five weeks before a planned referendum by Taiwan that has prompted Chinese criticism. It asks voters whether the Taiwanese government should step up defenses if Chinese doesn’t remove missiles pointed at the island. China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since splitting amid civil war in 1949. Beijing claims the island as its territory and repeatedly has threatened to attack. China’s military has several hundred missiles aimed at the island. Full Story