No one should underestimate China’s “will and determination” to defend its territory, sovereignty and maritime rights, Chinese Minister of National Defense General Chang Wanquan (常萬全) said in Washington on Monday.
He was speaking following a private Pentagon meeting with US Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel that almost certainly included talks on Taiwan.
While Taiwan was not mentioned by name during a later press conference, it may have been the subject of several veiled references.
“The current situation in the Asia-Pacific region is generally stable, but there remains some hotspots and sensitive issues,” Chang said.
“Some hot issues are heating, while some other sensitive issues are getting even more sensitive,” he said.
Chang said that “improper handling” of these issues could lead to a “severe impact on the overall security situation in the region.”
Disputes should be solved through dialogue and negotiation, he said, but “no one should fantasize that China would barter away our core interests.”
Any action that leads to trouble or provocation, or further complicates or magnifies problems “would be highly irresponsible and will not lead to a favorable result,” he said.
It was Hagel’s first Pentagon meeting with Chang, who spent Friday in Hawaii for talks at US Pacific Command and was at US Northern Command in Colorado over the weekend.
The defense ministers are believed to have discussed cyberattacks, disputes between China and Japan, East China Sea and South China Sea territorial boundaries and resources, and arms sales to Taiwan.
Hagel said during a speech in June at a regional security forum in Singapore that the US strongly supported efforts by Taiwan and China to improve bilateral ties.
“We have an enduring interest in peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” he said.
“The United States is committed to building a positive and constructive relationship with China,” Hagel said following the meeting.
“One of the themes we emphasized today was that a sustained, substantive military-to-military relationship is an important pillar for this strong bilateral relationship,” Hagel said.
He said that one goal was to build trust between the two militaries “through cooperation.”
Chang said that he had a “candid and deepening exchange of views,” with Hagel touching on national and military relations, international and regional security issues, and “other issues of common concerns.”
He said they both agreed that military-to-military relations were important, that they should strengthen high-level visits, that the two militaries have “an increasingly important responsibility” to keep the peace in the Asia-Pacific region and share wide common interests in “nontraditional” security areas.
Chang also said the People’s Liberation Army would help the US to search for the remains of soldiers missing-in-action.
“The China-US relationship is in a new historical era,” he said.
“What is the most important is China is ready to work with the US to maintain the regional peace and stability,” Chang said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai