China says it is helping Afghanistan with defense, counterterrorism

China's defense ministry said on Thursday that it was supporting Afghanistan's defense and counterterrorism efforts, a day after Beijing denied a plan to build a base in Afghanistan and to send Chinese forces to the war-torn country.China's foreign ministry on Wednesday dismissed a report by the South China Morning Post that cited sources with ties to the military as saying it was funding construction of a camp in Afghanistan's narrow Wakhan Corridor linking the two countries, and could send hun