China’s defense minister promised Sunday that the country will fight to the death to prevent Taiwanese independence, escalating already high tensions with the US over the island.
The superpowers are involved in a verbal battle over the self-governing, democratic island, which Beijing sees as part of its territory that has to be reunited.
Frequent Chinese aircraft intrusions near Taiwan have heightened diplomatic tensions, and in an address to the Shangri-La Dialogue security meeting on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accused Beijing of destabilizing military activities.
In a heated speech at the same event, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe retaliated, stating that if attempts to split Taiwan from China were launched, Beijing would have no choice but to resist.
He warned the conference, which brings together defense ministers from Asia and throughout the world, that “We will fight at all cost, and we will fight to the very end,”
On Friday, the two met for the first time on the margins of the summit in Singapore, where they also argued over Taiwan.
Increased Chinese military aircraft intrusions into Taiwan’s air defense identification zone have heightened tensions over the island (ADIZ).
President Joe Biden seemed to breach decades of US policy when he indicated, in answer to a question, that if Taiwan was invaded by China, Washington would protect it militarily.
Since then, the White House has maintained its strategy of strategic ambiguity on whether or not to interfere.
Given the high tensions, commentators suggested Austin and Wei’s willingness to meet in person was a modest glimmer of optimism.
This is the latest spat between Washington and Beijing, which has erupted over issues ranging from the South China Sea to human rights and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
China’s sweeping maritime claims have fueled tensions with rival claimants Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Vietnam, through which trillions of dollars in yearly shipping traffic pass.
China, whose historical claims were dismissed in a landmark Hague judgment in 2016, has been accused of flying planes and sailing boats dangerously close to rival claimants’ beaches, as well as intercepting patrol planes in international airspace.
In a departure from the gathering’s geopolitical sparring, Fiji’s defense minister cautioned that climate change, not fighting, was the greatest threat to his country.
