Ties are at critical juncture and puts onus on United States to improve bilateral relationship, Wei Fenghe says.
China will “fight to the very end” to stop Taiwan from declaring independence, the country’s defence minister has vowed in a speech amid his counterparts from other countries including the United States.
“We will fight at all cost and we will fight to the very end. This is the only choice for China,” Wei Fenghe told the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore, where he called Taiwan “first and foremost China’s Taiwan”.
“Those who pursue Taiwanese independence in an attempt to split China will definitely come to no good end. No one should ever underestimate the resolve and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity.”
His speech came a day after the US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, accused China of “provocative, destabilising” military activity close to the island.
Beijing views democratic, self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary. US-China tensions over the island have risen due in particular to a growing number of Chinese aerial incursions into Taiwan’s air defence zone.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry has denounced China’s claims of its sovereignty as “absurd” and thanked the US for its support.
“Taiwan has never been under the jurisdiction of the Chinese government, and the people of Taiwan will not succumb to threats of force from the Chinese government,” said ministry spokesperson Joanne Ou.
