At a meeting of defense chiefs, Beijing made it clear it would “crush” any moves toward Taiwanese independence
On Friday, General Wei Fenghe, China’s Defense Minister, told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that Beijing will be a good partner. “fight at all costs”Taiwan must not separate from the Chinese mainland. His warning comes as the US pursues a multi-million dollar arms deal with Taiwan and amid conflicting messages on the island’s status from Washington.
“If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs and take all necessary measures to crush any attempt by ‘Taiwan Separatists’ to split Taiwan from the motherland,”According to Wu Qian, a spokesperson for the Chinese Defense Ministry, Wei said that Austin had been told by Wei.
“The Chinese military will resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,”Wu was also mentioned.
Austin and Wei met Friday in Singapore, as part of the Shangri-La Defense Conference. This gathering was organized by IISS, a British think tank. It attracted more than 40 participants and began with Fumio Kishida, the Japanese Prime Minister.
Prior to Austin and Wei’s meeting, US President Joe Biden declared last month that America would involve its military in any potential conflict between China and Taiwan, seemingly disregarding the US’ long-standing policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ on the island and its relationship with Beijing.
Austin and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken walked back Biden’s statement and declared that the US was standing by its ‘One China Policy’ – which recognizes but does not endorse Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan and neither guarantees nor rules out US military intervention should China threaten to assimilate Taiwan by force.
However, Blinken’s insistence that China is engaged in “provocative rhetoric and activity” toward Taiwan, as well as the Pentagon’s approval on Wednesday of a $120 million arms sale to Taipei, have angered the Chinese government. Zhao Lijian (Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson) announced on Thursday that such deals would not be allowed. “seriously violate the one-China principle.”
Speaking in Singapore on Friday, Wu reiterated China’s opposition to this arms deal, and rejected Blinken’s claims that Beijing was threatening the stability of the Taiwan Strait. He said that instead, “Taiwan independence and foreign forces”All changes are at your own risk.
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