U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs on June 10 traded barbs over the situation surrounding self-ruled democratic Taiwan on the fringes of a key security meeting in Asia, with both sides warning against actions that they view as destabilizing.
In their first face-to-face talks since U.S. President Joe Biden took office last year, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was quoted by state-run media as telling U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that his country’s military will not hesitate in crushing any Taiwan independence forces.
Austin emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, expressed opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo and called on China to “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” according to the Pentagon.
He also reiterated that the United States remains committed to its longstanding “one-China” policy, under which Washington recognizes Beijing as the “sole legal government of China.”
Wei and Austin met on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit in Singapore, known as the Shangri-La Dialogue, as Washington has been stepping up efforts to counter Beijing’s increasing assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region. (Kyodo)
毎週届く！
