ISTANBUL China on Monday blasted plans of the US to set up military bases and deploy missile units in Japan and the Philippines “in the event of a Taiwan contingency." Beijing "firmly opposes countries using the Taiwan issue as a pretext to increase military deployments in the region, which only stirs up tensions, fosters confrontation, and undermines regional peace and stability," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told reporters in the Chinese capital. The new temporary US bases are said