Saturday eve, of the American Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin, who had denounced the “provocative and destabilizing” military activity of Beijing near Taiwan.
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Peking bangs his fist on the table. China will “beat to the end” to prevent Taiwan from declaring its independence, the Chinese Minister of Defense said on Sunday June 12. A declaration which sounds like a reply to that, the day before, of the American Minister of Defense, Lloyd Austin, who had denounced the military activity “provocative and destabilizing” from Beijing near Taiwan.
>> The article to read to understand everything about the tensions between China and Taiwan
This verbal contest between the two superpowers comes in a context of strong diplomatic tensions over the autonomous and democratic island, which Beijing considers to be an integral part of its territory.
“Those who pursue Taiwan independence with the aim of dividing China will certainly not achieve their ends”hammered the Minister of Defense Wei Fenghe during a forum of security organized in Singapore. “No one should ever underestimate the determination and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity”.
President Joe Biden, during a visit to Japan last month, appeared to break with decades of US policy when, in response to a question, he said Washington would militarily defend Taiwan if attacked by China. The White House has since insisted that its policy of“strategic ambiguity” as to a possible intervention had not changed.
This dispute is only the latest between Washington and Beijing. The South China Sea is another major hotspot in the region. China claims almost all of this resource-rich sea, through which billions of dollars in maritime trade pass each year.
Wei Fenghe insisted Sunday that China respects the freedom of navigation and attacked Washington in a veiled way. “A certain great power has long practiced shipping hegemony under the guise of freedom of navigation”he said in particular.