The Chinese government on Wednesday rejected a new Pentagon report that describes its military modernization program as a potential threat to U.S. forces and other regional powers, saying the assessment “ignores the facts” and “rudely interferes in China’s internal affairs.” In a sharply worded statement, a senior Foreign Ministry official, Yang Jiechi, defended China’s “normal national defense building and military deployments” and accused the Defense Department of “scheming to use this as an excuse to sell advanced weapons to Taiwan,” the self-governing island that Beijing claims is part of Chinese territory and threatens to seize by force. Full Story