China increases military movements near the Hong Kong border -

Washington/Hong Kong: The Chinese military has escalated the tension by amassing its troops near the Hong Kong border. Also, China has refused to allow two US warships to make port calls in Hong Kong. Against this backdrop, senior British parliamentarians have made a sensational demand that all Hong Kong residents be granted British nationality. Therefore, the impact of Hong Kong protests, which can be seen even on international level seems to have made China more restless.

The ongoing demonstrations kicked off since the last week in Hong Kong have stalled the operations at the airport, police stations, government offices as well as the road transport. As the lawyers and hospital staff, also have joined the protest, the daily life and systems have collapsed completely. The protesters are not paying any heed to any action taken by police; instead, the instances of them attacking the police are on the rise.

In such a scenario, the Chinese government is consistently hinting at interfering. The statements made by the senior Chinese officials and the media over the last few days echoes the same sentiment. China has described the use of violence by protesters as conduct close to terrorism, expressing fears that it could likely be a precursor to something bigger.

Two days ago, the Chinese media published photographs of tanks and armed vehicles, reaching Shenzhen, near the Hong Kong border. Within 24 hours of this, a company in the satellite imagery sector published a photograph of the Shenzhen region. The photo is of a stadium, where many armed vehicles are seen lined up.

The concerned vehicles and the unit deployed is a part of the Peoples’ Armed Police. It is mostly used during protests and riots in China. The Chinese officials claimed that the deployment of Peoples’ Armed Police is pre-planned and temporary. But the analysts connected with Hong Kong and China have expressed fears that it could be preparations for bigger action.

China has already threatened that if the United States and the western countries tried to interfere in the matters of Hong Kong, they would have to face retaliation by China. Accordingly, China has delivered the message of it being more aggressive to the United States. Reportedly, the mainland has also barred two US warships from making port calls in Hong Kong. USS Green Bay was scheduled to reach Hong Kong port this Saturday. Likewise, USS Lake Perry was expected to visit Hong Kong in the next month. However, the US Pacific fleet informed that both the US warships had been denied permission to stop at Hong Kong.

Meanwhile, Tom Tugendhat, the chief of the Foreign Committee in the British parliament, has forwarded a sensational demand of granting British citizenship, to all the Hong Kong residents. The British parliamentarian claimed that this measure would help reassure the Hong Kong resident, in the times of current violent crisis. Moreover, Hong Kong was under British rule before it was handed over to China in 1997. Therefore, the UK cannot turn a blind eye when the autonomy and security of the people of Hong Kong are at stake, is the claim made by the UK. Against this background, the demand by the British parliamentarian added to the pressure on China, whereas, China has issued a stern warning to the United Kingdom to stay away from Hong Kong.