The Chinese Minister of Defense and his American counterpart met for the first time and mutually warned about the autonomous island, claimed by Beijing.
Le Monde with AFP
The threat sets the tone for the meeting which took place on Friday June 10 in Singapore between the Chinese Minister of Defense and his American counterpart. Beijing warned that he would “break in a thousand pieces” any attempt at the island, claiming that “the Chinese army will not hesitate [it] for a moment to trigger a war, whatever the cost “Said a spokesperson for the Chinese ministry at the end of the meeting, reporting the words of Minister Wei Fenghe.
The American defense secretary, Lloyd Austin, told his Chinese counterpart that Beijing had to “abstain” from any new destabilizing action towards the island of Taiwan, communicated the Pentagon.
First meeting against a background of tensions
This meeting, organized on the sidelines of the Shangri-La dialogue security forum, against a background of disputes between the two rival powers, was a first since the taking up of Lloyd Austin. The two men had discussed by phone in April.
Friction subjects have multiplied in recent years between the two countries: southern China Sea, growing China in Asia-Pacific, War in Ukraine, or Taiwan.
China estimates that this island populated by 24 million inhabitants is one of its historic provinces – even if it does not control the territory – and has increased military pressure for Taiwan for several years.
The meeting between Wei Fenghe and Lloyd Austin takes place a few weeks after the incursion of thirty Chinese military planes in the Taiwan air defense identification area – the most important operation of this kind in 2022. For the States- United, these incursions are a sign “of an increasingly provocative” rhetoric and activity on the part of Beijing.
possible military support from the United States
During a visit to Japan during the last month, President Joe Biden seemed to have broken up with decades of American policy when, in response to a question, he said that Washington could defend Taiwan militarily in the event of ‘Invasion by Beijing. The White House has since insisted that “strategic ambiguity”, the deliberately vague concept that governs Washington’s policy about Taiwan for decades, remained unchanged.
In response to these statements by the American president, China had stated in the United States “to avoid sending bad signals to the independence forces” of Taiwan. The United States “played with fire,” said Beijing, according to the official news agency China Nouvelle. The United States “use the” Taiwan card “to contain China and will burn themselves there,” said Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwanese Affairs of the Council of State, often described as the Chinese government .