Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) on Tuesday defended his nation’s policy on the controversial issues of Hong Kong and Xinjiang in a telephone conversation with US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper.
The Chinese minister also raised the issues of Taiwan and the South China Sea in the telephone conversation with his US counterpart, Xinhua news agency reported.
While it is usual for China to reassert its claim to sovereignty over both those areas in talks with the US, the mention of Hong Kong and Xinjiang is more unusual.
Hong Kong has been wracked by five months of anti-government protests that Beijing accuses the US and other foreign forces of encouraging, while China has come under criticism for detaining more than 1 million of Xinjiang’s Uighurs and members of other Muslim ethnic groups in political re-education centers, where they are forced to swear loyalty to the Chinese Communist Party.
The centers are seen by critics as a key part of what they call a campaign of cultural genocide.
China at first denied the existence of the centers, but now says they aim to provide job skills to lift people out of poverty, and combat religious extremism.
No details of Wei’s comments on any of the four topics were given, although he has issued a series of harsh statements renewing China’s determination to back up its territorial claims with force.
At a security conference in Singapore in June, Wei warned that China’s People’s Liberation Army would “resolutely take action” to defend Beijing’s claims over Taiwan and the South China Sea.
Wei did not direct the threat at the US, but loaded his address with criticism of activities by Washington, including support for Taiwan and leading so-called freedom of navigation operations.
Beijing would not “yield a single inch of the country’s sacred land,” Wei said.
Despite Wei’s hardline stance, he told Esper that while China-US relations had reached a “crucial period,” mutually beneficial cooperation was the “only correct choice,” Xinhua reported.
“The two sides should ... continue to advance military-to-military relations to make them a pillar of stability in bilateral relations,” Wei was quoted as saying.
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
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
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