Representatives from China and Taiwan commented on the situation between the two countries in very different ways during the Asian Security Conference in Singapore.
China if necessary, will fight “to the end” to prevent Taiwan from declaring independence, China’s defense minister Wei Fenghe announced at a security meeting in Singapore on Sunday.
The Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore is the most important security meeting in Asia. The meeting will be attended by state security policy makers from the United States, China and Japan, among others. The meeting, which began on Friday, ended on Sunday.
Wei made his remarks after first negotiating face-to-face with the U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austinin with.
China’s and the situation between Taiwan was one of the main topics of the security meeting. China considers Taiwan to be part of China, a rebellious province, although in practice Taiwan is an independent island nation. Now the distances between the countries have become worse than in decades.
In May, the President of the United States Joe Biden directly stated that the United States would help Taiwan defend itself if China invaded the island. China responded to Biden’s comments by flying its military planes into Taiwan’s air defense zone.
At the Asian Security Conference, Lloyd Austin harshly criticized China’s actions.
“We have witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan,” Austin said.
Wei Fenghe, for his part, said no one should underestimate the ability of the Chinese military to “safeguard its territorial integrity.” According to Wein, Taiwan is “above all, China’s Taiwan”.
Taiwan prime minister Su Tseng-Chang commented on the situation on Sunday in Taipei, Taiwan’s capital, saying Taiwan is ready for talks with China “in good spirits, on an equal footing and without political preconditions”.
“As for China’s harassment of Taiwan, the most unreasonable is China itself,” Su said.
The prime minister said Taiwan did not want to close the door on China but that China itself had used many means to treat Taiwan unreasonably.
Asian the security meeting also addressed issues other than between China and Taiwan. North Korea, which has recently been reported to have tested an intercontinental ballistic missile and is suspected of preparing for nuclear tests, has surfaced.
South Korean Minister of Defense Lee Jong-sup announced at a meeting on Sunday that his country is stepping up its defense capabilities and is working closely with the United States and Japan to combat the North Korean nuclear and missile threat.
Lee said South Korea is ready to expand its financial support to North Korea if the country stops its nuclear weapons program.
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