\n
SINGAPORE, 4 Jun (AP) \u2014 China\u2019s defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world\u2019s top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d patrols are a provocation to China.<\/p>\n
In his first international public address since becoming defense minister in March, Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue that China doesn\u2019t have any problems with \u201cinnocent passage\u201d but that \u201cwe must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation.\u201d<\/p>\n
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told the same forum Saturday that Washington would not \u201cflinch in the face of bullying or coercion\u201d from China and would continue regularly sailing through and flying over the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea to emphasize they are international waters, countering Beijing\u2019s sweeping territorial claims.<\/p>\n
That same day, as a U.S. guided-missile destroyer and a Canadian frigate were intercepted by a Chinese warship as they transited the strait between the self-governed island of Taiwan, which China claims as its own territory, and mainland China. The Chinese vessel overtook the American ship and then veered across its bow at a distance of 150 yards (about 140 meters) in an \u201cunsafe manner,\u201d according to the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the U.S. has said a Chinese J-16 fighter jet late last month \u201cperformed an unnecessarily aggressive maneuver\u201d while intercepting a U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, flying directly in front of the plane\u2019s nose.<\/p>\n
Those and previous incidents have raised concerns of a possible accident occurring that could lead to an escalation between the two nations at a time when tensions are already high.<\/p>\n
Li suggested the U.S. and its allies had created the danger, and should instead should focus on taking \u201cgood care of your own territorial airspace and waters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best way is for the countries, especially the naval vessels and fighter jets of countries, not to do closing actions around other countries\u2019 territories,\u201d he said through an interpreter. \u201cWhat\u2019s the point of going there? In China we always say, \u2018Mind your own business.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In a wide-ranging speech, Li reiterated many of Beijing\u2019s well-known positions, including its claim on Taiwan, calling it \u201cthe core of our core interests.\u201d<\/p>\n
He accused the U.S. and others of \u201cmeddling in China\u2019s internal affairs\u201d by providing Taiwan with defense support and training, and conducting high-level diplomatic visits.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina stays committed to the path of peaceful development, but we will never hesitate to defend our legitimate rights and interests, let alone sacrifice the nation\u2019s core interests,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the lyrics of a well-known Chinese song go: \u2018When friends visit us, we welcome them with fine wine. When jackals or wolves come, we will face them with shotguns.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
In his speech the previous day, Austin broadly outlined the U.S. vision for a \u201cfree, open, and secure Indo-Pacific within a world of rules and rights.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the pursuit of such, Austin said the U.S. was stepping up planning, coordination and training with \u201cfriends from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean\u201d with shared goals \u201cto deter aggression and to deepen the rules and norms that promote prosperity and prevent conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n
Li scoffed at the notion, saying \u201csome country takes a selective approach to rules and international laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt likes forcing its own rules on others,\u201d he said. \u201cIts so-called \u2018rules-based international order\u2019 never tells you what the rules are and who made these rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
By contrast, he said, \u201cwe practice multilateralism and pursue win-win cooperation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Li is under American sanctions that are part of a broad package of measures against Russia \u2014 but predate its invasion of Ukraine \u2014 that were imposed in 2018 over Li\u2019s involvement in China\u2019s purchase of combat aircraft and anti-aircraft missiles from Moscow.<\/p>\n
The sanctions, which broadly prevent Li from doing business in the United States, do not prevent him from holding official talks, American defense officials have said.<\/p>\n
Still, he refused Austin\u2019s invitation to talk on the sidelines of the conference, though the two did shake hands before sitting down at opposite sides of the same table together as the forum opened Friday.<\/p>\n
Austin said that was not enough.<\/p>\n
\u201cA cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement,\u201d Austin said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. has noted that since 2021 \u2014 well before Li became defense minister \u2014 China has declined or failed to respond to more than a dozen requests from the U.S. Defense Department to talk with senior leaders, as well as multiple requests for standing dialogues and working-level engagements.<\/p>\n
Li said that \u201cChina is open to communications between our two countries and also between our two militaries,\u201d but without mentioning the sanctions, said exchanges had to be \u201cbased on mutual respect.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a very fundamental principle,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we do not even have mutual respect, than our communications will not be productive.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said that he recognized that any \u201csevere conflict or confrontation between China and the U.S. will be an unbearable disaster for the world,\u201d and that the two countries need to find ways to improve relations, saying they were \u201cat a record low.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHistory has proven time and again that both China and the United States will benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina seeks to develop a new type of major-country relationship with the United States. As for the U.S. side, it needs to act with sincerity, match its words with deeds, and take concrete actions together with China to stabilize the relations and prevent further deterioration,\u201d Li said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SINGAPORE, 4 Jun (AP) \u2014 China\u2019s defense minister defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world\u2019s top defense officials in Singapore on Sunday that such so-called \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d patrols are a provocation to China. In his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-217701","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217701","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217701"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217701\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217701"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217701"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217701"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}