China warns US it won’t hesitate to ‘start a war’ if Taiwan declares independence

Tensions are growing on the Asian continent. This Friday, China warned that “won’t hesitate to start a war” Yes Taiwan declared independent. These statements were made by the Chinese Defense Minister after a meeting in Singapore with his counterpart from USA. The ministers confronted their positions on the island de facto separated from the authority of Beijing since 1949.

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the Chinese minister, wei fenghemet for the first time with his American counterpart, Lloyd Austinapart from the so-called Shangri-la Dialoguea forum for senior military officials, diplomats and arms companies taking place in Singapore until June 12.

Taiwan’s status has been the subject of diplomatic friction between China and the United States in recent years. Beijing considers this island of 24 million inhabitants as one of its provinces, in which the nationalist troops defeated on the mainland by the communist forces of Mao Tse-tung took refuge in 1949.

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Indeed, China often reiterates its goal of retaking the island sooner or later and, if necessary, by force.

“If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will not hesitate to start a war no matter what.”, Wei said during the meeting with his American counterpart, said Wu Qian, the spokesman for the Chinese Defense Ministry.

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The minister also said that Beijing “would crush“any attempt at independence of the island and would defend”with determination the unification of the homeland”.

Wei further insisted that the island belongs to China and that the United States should not “use Taiwan to contain China”, according to the ministry.

Austin, on your side, “reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Strait [de Taiwán]”, which separates the island from the mainland.

The Secretary of Defense also expressed his rejection of “unilateral changes to the status quo” and urged Beijing to “refrain from further destabilizing actions towards Taiwan”according to the Pentagon.

Tensions around Taiwan have intensified in recent weeks, most notably over the May raids by Chinese military aircraft on Taiwan’s Air Defense Identification Zone (“Adiz”), the largest such operation since the beginning of the year.

frictions

During a visit to Japan at the end of May, the president of the United States, Joe Biden, surprised by stating that Washington would defend Taiwan militarily if China invaded the island.

Shortly after, the White House qualified its statements and assured that the US policy of “strategic ambiguity” with Taiwan remained unchanged.

Austin is the latest US official to visit Asia at a time when Washington is seeking to refocus its foreign policy on the region since the Ukraine war.

The Russian offensive is in fact another point of friction between Beijing and Washington, which accuses China of tacitly supporting Moscow.

China is in favor of starting talks to end the war, but has not condemned the Russian invasion and has repeatedly criticized US arms deliveries to kyiv.

China’s sweeping claims in the South China Sea have also fueled tensions with Washington.

Beijing claims almost all of the sea, rich in resources and through which billions of dollars in maritime trade pass annually. Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also claim parts of that area.

Austin arrived in Singapore on Thursday and met with several of his counterparts on Friday.

During a meeting with defense ministers from Southeast Asia, he stressed that the US strategy was intended to “maintain an open, inclusive and law-based regional security environment”, according to a statement from the Singapore government.

His statement indirectly referred to the actions of China, which seeks to increase its influence in the region.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.