Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fengyi has warned his US counterpart Lloyd Austin that Beijing “will not hesitate to start a war” if Taiwan declares independence from the motherland, in a new confrontation between the two powers over the island.
The warnings came in light of the first direct meeting between the two ministers on the sidelines of the “Shangri-La Dialogue” security summit in Singapore on Friday.
Fengyi addressed the US Secretary of War, saying, “If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will certainly not hesitate to start a war at all costs.”
The Chinese minister pledged that Beijing “will crush (turn) to pieces any scheme for Taiwan independence and firmly affirm the unity of the motherland,” the Chinese Defense Ministry quoted him as saying during the meeting.
Fengi stressed that “Taiwan is China’s Taiwan…Using Taiwan to contain China will never win.”
During the meeting, the US War Department said Lloyd Austin stressed “the importance of peace and stability across the (Taiwan) Strait and opposition to any unilateral changes to the status quo, and called on China to refrain from taking any further destabilizing steps toward Taiwan.”
A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman later said that Fengyi reiterated Beijing’s consistent position on Taiwan, which is part of China.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army will have no choice but to fight at any cost and crush any attempt at Taiwan independence and safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” the spokesperson stressed.
The meeting between Austin and Fengyi also touched on other issues, including the exchange of information in times of crisis and the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
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