Prospective US secretary of state Rex Tillerson better watch his mouth, Chinese media said yesterday, warning US president-elect Donald Trump’s nominee that his threats to block China in the South China Sea are fighting words.
The comments came after the former ExxonMobil CEO told US senators that he would seek to deny Beijing access to the artificial islands it has been building in the South China Sea.
China’s actions in the region are comparable to Russia’s invasion of Crimea, he said, a comment that did not sit well with the nuclear-armed Asian giant.
If Tillerson acted on his threats, “it would set a course for devastating confrontation between China and the US,” the state-owned China Daily said.
Satellite photographs show China has been hard at work building military facilities in the contested waters, which are also claimed by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
Under US President Barack Obama, Washington has claimed Beijing’s activities in the region threaten freedom of navigation and overflight through the commercially and strategically vital waters.
However, the US has not taken a position on the ownership of the islets, reefs and shoals that sit in one of the world’s hot spots.
However, Tillerson explicitly said that the territories “are not rightfully China’s.”
“Unless Washington plans to wage a large-scale war in the South China Sea, any other approaches to prevent Chinese access to the islands will be foolish,” the Global Times wrote in an editorial.
The newspaper, which is thought to have some insight into the thinking of more hawkish members of the Chinese Communist Party, added that Tillerson better “bone up on nuclear power strategies if he wants to force a big nuclear power to withdraw from its own territories.”
The Global Times has called on Beijing to increase its nuclear arsenal after Trump threatened to upend decades of US policy by suggesting he could recognize Taiwan.
China’s official reaction to the comments was muted, with Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) politely urging Washington to mind its own business.
“The South China Sea situation has cooled down and we hope non-regional countries can respect the consensus that it is in the fundamental interest of the whole world,” he said.
Both newspapers, despite their warnings, agreed that it was too early to tell if Tillerson’s words were more bark than bite.
“It remains to be seen to what extent his views against China will translate into US foreign policies,” the China Daily said.
However, that does not mean that the Trump administration should think Beijing has not heard his team’s outspoken anti-China rhetoric, the Global Times said.
The president-elect has filled his team with people such as Peter Navarro, author of Death by China, and has threatened to declare Beijing a currency manipulator and slap it with 45 percent tariffs.
China is letting those comments slide for now, the Global Times wrote, but added that “if Trump’s diplomatic team shapes future Sino-US ties as it is doing now, the two sides had better prepare for a military clash.”
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source