Beijing would “not hesitate to start a war” if Taiwan declares independence, China’s defense minister warned his US counterpart in their first face-to-face talks, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
“If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,” it cited Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe (魏鳳和) as telling US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of a summit in Singapore.
Beijing must “refrain from further destabilizing actions” on Taiwan, Austin said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The US and China are expected to use the Shangri-La Dialogue, a major Asian security forum, to press their competing visions for regional stability, even as the war in Ukraine consumes Washington’s attention and Beijing struggles with economic pressures at home.
Austin and Wei are expected to deliver speeches at the event, which started late yesterday.
The US is seeking to use the three-day conference to push back against growing Chinese influence in the Asia-Pacific region, while also establishing guardrails to prevent competition from getting out of hand.
Photo: Reuters
Austin and Wei last spoke during a telephone call in April.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a key US ally, was to give the opening event’s keynote speech.
He was expected to set out his views on expanding the US concept of a free and open Asia-Pacific region with an eye to the war on Ukraine and China’s military assertiveness.
Many nations attending have resisted pressure to take sides and have sought to avoid getting caught in the middle.
Singapore-based International Institute of Strategic Studies executive director James Crabtree said that while the focus is on the US and Chinese defense heads, as they are expected to meet on the sidelines of the conference, it remains unlikely that there would be any kind of breakthrough on new areas of cooperation between the two sides.
“You look during the Ukraine crisis — that has reinforced in the eyes of both the Americans and the Chinese that they’re not really acting in a way that is honest and forthright with each other,” he said in an interview with Bloomberg TV. “So part of the problem is it’s hard to see how you get better results out of that relationship.”
A flurry of bilateral talks between defense ministers have started ahead of the conference.
Austin and Singaporean Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen (黃永宏) had one of the first bilateral discussions.
More than 30 defense ministers are in Singapore for the event.
Kishida, who had persuaded some traditional Southeast Asian partners of Russia to criticize its war in Ukraine, is expected to use his speech to bring others in Asia aboard.
Kishida has taken a tough stance on Russia’s attack on Ukraine and made frequent veiled warnings about the risk of a similar grab for territory by China.
A senior US defense official, who briefed reporters ahead of Austin’s arrival, said that the region has seen a clear trend toward self-isolating behavior by China.
Countries across the region are concerned by Beijing’s aggressive behavior, the official said, adding that the example of Ukraine looms large in the region, demonstrating the risks of disorder and spheres of influence.
The Pentagon is working to ensure that the meeting with Wei would be professional and substantive, the official said.
The US has no desire to create a public spectacle, the official said, referring to testy public exchanges between the US and China in the past few years.
The official said the US places a priority on improving crisis communications with Beijing.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique