{"id":4154,"date":"2022-06-11T08:37:21","date_gmt":"2022-06-11T08:37:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/amnewsworld.com\/?p=4154"},"modified":"2022-06-11T08:37:21","modified_gmt":"2022-06-11T08:37:21","slug":"us-slams-chinas-destabilizing-military-activity-near-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnewsworld.com\/fi\/us-slams-chinas-destabilizing-military-activity-near-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"US slams China’s ‘destabilizing’ military activity near Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"

The US Defense Secretary said Chinese military activity around the self-governing island threatened to change the status quo. Lloyd Austin said Washington would continue to stand by Taiwan at an event in Singapore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin criticized China on Saturday for a “more coercive and aggressive approach to its territorial claims.”<\/p>\n

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Asia’s premier defense conference, Austin said there had been an “alarming” increase in the number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters between Chinese planes and vessels<\/a> with those of other countries.<\/p>\n

“We’ve witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan, and that includes PLA [Chinese military]\u00a0aircraft flying near Taiwan in record numbers in recent months and nearly on a daily basis,” Austin said.<\/p>\n

Taiwan and China split during a civil war in 1949, but China considers it a renegade province<\/a> to be reunited with the mainland.<\/p>\n

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How likely is a Chinese invasion of Taiwan?<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Beijing\u00a0warning if ‘anyone dares to split Taiwan from China’<\/h4>\n

Austin’s comments come a day after he met with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the conference for discussions where Taiwan featured prominently.<\/p>\n

Wei had warned Austin that “if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,” according to the Chinese Defense Ministry quoting him.<\/p>\n

He also said that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any ‘Taiwan independence’ plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland,” according to the ministry.<\/p>\n

Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry denounced as “absurd” China’s claims to sovereignty.<\/p>\n

“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 spokeswoman Joanne Ou.<\/p>\n

Austin said that the United States’ policy on Taiwan was to remain opposed to “any unilateral changes to the status quo from either side.”<\/p>\n

“Our policy hasn’t changed. But unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be true for the PRC,” he said, using the acronym for the People’s Republic of China. “We remain focused on maintaining peace, stability, and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait. But the PRC’s moves threaten to undermine security and stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”<\/p>\n

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