“Taiwan is first and foremost China’s Taiwan,” Wei told Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s main defense conference, adding that China “would not hesitate” to crush any attempt at “secession” from China. the self-governing island.
The speech, which came just weeks after U.S. President Joe Biden said the U.S. would respond “militarily” if China attacked Taiwan, ended a weekend of heated exchanges between U.S. military leaders and Chinese. Wei also called U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin. , who had told the conference a day earlier that China was engaged in coercive, aggressive and dangerous actions that threatened to “undermine security, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.”
Austin had also talked about the creation of a US coalition in the region and its joint military exercises with Japan, Australia, India and Indonesia, but Wei said it was a kind of “power policy. “which China rejected.
“No country or country should impose its will on others, or intimidate others under the guise of multilateralism,” Wei said.
“We note Secretary Austin’s remarks on the US Indo-Pacific strategy. For us, the strategy is an attempt to build a small, exclusive group on behalf of a free and open Indo-Pacific, for “It’s a strategy to create conflict,” said Wei.
“Fight to the end”
But Wei – who met with Austin in a bilateral meeting on Friday afternoon – reserved some of his harshest criticism of Washington’s position on Taiwan, the democratically governed island that Beijing considers its territory despite. who has never ruled it.
Austin said Friday that the U.S. would continue to support Taiwan with the means to defend itself, including arms sales that China considers a violation of its sovereignty.
Under U.S. policy, Washington provides defensive weapons to Taiwan, but has remained intentionally ambiguous about whether to intervene militarily in the event of a Chinese attack, a policy the White House insists remains intact despite recent comments by Biden that they seemed to deviate from ambiguity. . Washington acknowledges China’s position that Taiwan is part of China, but has never officially acknowledged Beijing’s claim to self-governing island. Wei said there would be no compromise with China’s sovereignty or the question of whether Taiwan would one day “reunite” with the mainland, a clear goal of the Communist Party of China, which calls for peaceful but not “reunification.” has discarded use. quite.
“China will definitely realize its reunification … It’s a historic trend that no one, no force can stop,” Wei said.
And the People’s Liberation Army was willing to shed blood to enforce it if necessary, he said.
“Let me make it clear,” Wei said. “If anyone dares to separate Taiwan from China, we will not hesitate to fight. We will fight at all costs. And we will fight to the end.”
The Chinese Defense Minister said that the path that the United States is taking in the region is a path that his country will never follow.
“The order of human civilization must be based on the rule of law. Otherwise, the law of the jungle will prevail,” Wei said.
“China will never seek hegemony or participate in military expansion or an arms race. We will not intimidate others, but we will not allow others to harass us,” he said.
Wei heads the Ministry of National Defense of China, but is not the top military official of the Central Military Commission of the Chinese Communist Party, which controls China’s armed forces under Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Regional tensions
China has faced a barrage of criticism during the Shangri-La conference.
Delegates from US allies such as Australia and Canada have been critical of what they see as a violation of international law by Beijing, including what they say are dangerous interceptions of their planes operating in the region.
Without mentioning China’s name, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Friday that the Asian security situation was pushing Tokyo to substantially increase its defense budget and consider acquiring “counterattack weapons”. guy who is now not in his arsenal.
Japanese and Australian forces, including US allies and partners, have been operating in the South China Sea, almost all of which China claims as its sovereign territory.
China has militarized several artificial islands on the 1.3 million square mile waterway.
But Wei inferred that it was the United States that was advancing by sending naval vessels along the waterway.
“Some great power has long practiced the hegemony of navigation under the pretext of freedom of navigation,” Wei said.
He said the United States and China are at a critical juncture in their relationship, but said the ball is in Washington’s court when it comes to spreading tensions.
Washington must stop “defaming” Beijing and “interfering in China’s internal affairs” in order for relations to improve, Wei said.
“It will be a historic and strategic mistake to insist on taking China as a threat and an adversary or even an enemy,” he said.
If Washington can treat Beijing with “mutual respect,” there is room for both nations to prosper, Wei said.
But he had a stern warning if the United States opted otherwise.
“If you want to cooperate, we have to promote mutual benefits and win-win results. However, if you want to confront us, we will fight to the end.”