Singapore (EFE) about the self-governing island.
“Taiwan is at the center of China’s interests. It is an internal and indisputable matter. It is up to China to decide how to solve it,” Li remarked today during a speech given at the Shangri-La Dialogue, the most important annual security forum in Asia, in which his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, also participates.
Li’s comments come amid new tensions in the Taiwan Strait and after Austin’s words the day before in the same forum, where he stressed that the US, which supplies the island with weapons and would in principle defend it in case of attack, “will continue to categorically oppose a change in the (Taiwan) status quo by either party.”
Incident near Taiwan
On Saturday, a Chinese military ship maneuvered dangerously within 137 meters of the US destroyer USS Chung-Hoon as it conducted joint exercises with the Canadian Navy near Taiwan, amid rising tensions between Washington and Beijing, Canada’s Global News reported.
Asked about the near collision the day before, Li denounced today in the forum that “it is not about innocent crossings, but about provocations.”
The Chinese Defense Minister, who took office in March, repeatedly indirectly criticized the US for being “responsible” for the instability in the Taiwan Strait, asking questions such as: “Who is undermining security? ? The answer is clear.”
Li warned that the more such moves, “the more decisive we will be in our response. All interference will fail (…) China must be and will be reunified”.
The use of force
The minister added that, although the intention is for it to be a “peaceful reunification”, China does not renounce the use of force “regardless of the cost if there are provocations”.
“I want to ask a question. Why are these incidents occurring in areas near China and not other countries? I think it is because Chinese ships do not carry out hegemonic actions near other countries (…) As we always say: mind your own business and take care of your own neighborhood”.
On the other hand, the Chinese minister did not address questions about complaints from neighboring countries, such as the Philippines, about the presence of Chinese ships in its territorial waters, while Beijing claims almost the entire resource-rich South China Sea.
Despite the sometimes stern tone of the speech, Li also presented China as a force for peace, saying that “China and the US should manage their differences and find a way to get along.” Although he asserted that his country is “open” to communication with the US side, he emphasized that “if there is no mutual respect, the dialogue is not productive.”
A Chinese military ship passes dangerously close to a US destroyer near Taiwan
Near Taiwan, a Chinese military ship maneuvered dangerously just 137 meters from the USS Chung-Hoon destroyer while it was conducting joint exercises with the Canadian Navy, according to the Canadian portal Global News.
Global News journalists aboard the Canadian ship HMCS Montreal watched on Saturday as the Chinese ship moved into the path of the USS Chung-Hoon only to divert at the last moment.
The commander of HMCS Montreal, Paul Mountford, told the Canadian media that the Chinese maneuver was not “professional” and added that the US ship also had to maneuver and slow down to avoid a possible collision. Mountford opined that the incident was “clearly instigated” by the Chinese ship, as she radioed USS Chung-Hoon before carrying out the maneuver.
The United States and Canada say they were in international waters, while Beijing insists that they are in its territorial waters. In a statement, Chinese Army Eastern Command spokesman Shi Yi said the US destroyer and Canadian frigate sailed through the Taiwan Strait on Saturday and there were also Chinese forces there, but did not mention the danger of a collision.