China has announced that it will ‘not hesitate to start a war’ and ‘smash to smithereens’ any efforts aimed at Taiwan’s independence, its defence minister warned his US counterpart in the pair’s first face-to-face talks.
‘If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,’ Defence Minister Wei Fenghe was quoted as saying during a meeting with Lloyd Austin on Friday.
‘The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] would have no choice but to fight … and crush any attempt of Taiwan independence, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.’
Despite the combative words, Wei said the talks with Austin ‘went smoothly’.
Read Also: Malaysia Bans Mandatory Death Penalty In Fresh Policy
Africa Daily News, New York reports that the meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore for nearly an hour, double the time initially allotted.
The Chinese minister also pledged that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any Taiwan independence plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland”, according to the Chinese defence ministry.
‘Taiwan is China’s Taiwan… Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail,’ it said in a statement.
Beijing claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to take control of the island.
Austin told Wei that Beijing must “refrain from further destabilising actions toward Taiwan”, the Pentagon said.
A Chinese fighter aircraft dangerously intercepted an Australian military surveillance plane in the South China Sea region in May, and Canada’s military accused Chinese warplanes of harassing its patrol aircraft as they monitor North Korea sanction evasions.
Austin and Wei’s first face-to-face meeting comes as US President Joe Biden is seeking to spend more time on Asian security issues after months of focus on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Although both sides say they want to better manage their relationship, Beijing and Washington remain at odds over several volatile security situations, from Taiwan’s sovereignty to China’s military activity in the South China Sea and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The United States is Taiwan’s most important international supporter and arms supplier, a source of constant friction between Washington and Beijing.
In the latest arms package, the US announced on Wednesday the sale of parts for Taiwanese naval ships at an estimated cost of $120m.
