Tensions between the US and China over Taiwan have escalated in the midst of the Ukraine war.
Washington:
During a conversation on Friday on the sidelines of the annual Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned his Chinese counterpart that Beijing should “avoid further destabilizing actions towards Taiwan”.
According to The Hill, Austin met with his Chinese counterpart General Wei Fenghe during the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, the Pentagon said in a statement, reiterating that the US has long been committed to a one-China policy, which Guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, three US-China joint communiqués and six assurances.
“The Secretary reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Straits, opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, and calls on the PRC to refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” it added.
Tensions between the US and China have escalated over Taiwan amid Russia’s attack on Ukraine.
US President Joe Biden sparked tensions during his first visit to Asia as president in May, when he said the US would be ready to defend Taiwan if China tried to invade. Two days later, China conducted military exercises near Taiwan.
The Wall Street Journal also reported last month that the defense chief was planning to meet during the talks, although nothing had been finalized. Austin and Wei last spoke on the phone in April, the first conversation between the two executives.
On April 20, Austin and Wei spoke for about 45 minutes, the first time a US defense secretary had spoken to his Chinese counterpart more than a year before the Trump administration.
Austin has repeatedly described China as a “pacing challenge” for the Defense Department and said the Indo-Pacific region is a priority for the United States, even as Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine also with.
Already strained relations between Washington and Beijing boiled over earlier this week when a US congressional delegation visited Taiwan.
Beijing claims full sovereignty over Taiwan, a democracy of some 24 million people located on mainland China’s southeast coast, despite the fact that the two sides have been governed separately for more than seven decades.
Taipei, on the other hand, has countered Chinese aggression by enhancing strategic ties with democracies including the US, which has been repeatedly opposed by Beijing. China has threatened that “Taiwan’s independence” means war.
Significantly, China also sent 30 warplanes to Taiwan’s air defense detection zone on Monday, the highest daily figure in four months.
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