China promises to act “with determination and force” against Taiwan’s independence

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun warned on Sunday June 2 that Beijing “will act[it] with determination and strength” in order to prevent Taiwan’s independence. He nevertheless called for more military communications with the United States.

Dong was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, a major security forum where he met his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, on Friday for the first substantive talks between the two countries’ defense chiefs in eighteen months.

“We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet each other halfway”said Mr. Dong. “We believe we need more exchanges precisely because there are differences between our two armies. »

The two defense officials spoke for more than an hour Friday at the hotel hosting the forum, which is attended by defense officials from around the world and which has become, in recent years, a barometer of relations between United States and China. After the meeting, Mr. Austin declared that telephone conversations between the American and Chinese military commands would resume ” in the coming months “. The American Secretary of Defense thus “reaffirmed” the commitment made by Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, during a summit in San Francisco in November 2023, to resume telephone conversations at commander level in the coming months.

China’s ‘restraint’ against Filipino sailors ‘has limits’

While greeting the “stabilization” relations between the two countries, Dong Jun once again emphasized China’s determination to defend its claimed sovereignty over Taiwan. “The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has always been an indestructible and powerful force in defending the unification of the motherland, and it will act with determination and force at all times to curb Taiwan’s independence and ensure that ‘she never succeeds in her attempts’said Mr. Dong.

The Chinese official warned that Beijing’s restraint in the South China Sea had ” limits “following a series of skirmishes between Chinese and Filipino ships in a disputed area. “China has shown sufficient restraint in the face of rights violations and provocations, but there are limits to this”said Mr. Dong.

Chinese coast guard ships have used water cannons against Philippine boats several times in waters that Beijing almost entirely claims, and collisions have injured several Filipino soldiers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who arrived in Singapore on Saturday, is due to speak at the forum on Sunday morning and meet with several officials, including the American defense minister.