“We want to take this in a very sober and deliberate way. We do not underestimate the difficulties of the bilateral relationship.”
China-Australia relations have been strained for years, initially by banning telecommunications giant Huawei from Australian networks and, more recently, by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s call for an independent investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus it has caused have claimed millions of lives and turned the global economy upside down.
The confrontation has included punitive tariffs and other restrictions on Australian exports to China, as well as regular beards heading to Canberra from Beijing through its state and diplomatic means.
China has indicated that it expects to maintain relations with Australia under the new Albanian government, but no formal invitation has been made for a structured dialogue. China stopped receiving phone calls from Morrison government ministers in early 2020.
Earlier Sunday, General Wei accused the United States and its allies of interfering in the South China Sea and warned that its military would crush any attempt by Taiwan to secure independence.
In a one-on-one speech, General Wei also accused his US counterpart of “defaming accusations, even threats” at the Singapore Summit.
China’s Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe on Sunday greeted those attending the Shangri-la Dialogue on Strategic Studies (IISS) in Singapore. AP
His comments follow those of U.S. Secretary of State Lloyd Austin on Saturday, who denounced intimidation, economic coercion and harassment by maritime militias in the South China Sea. The “alarming increase in these incidents,” he said, included a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy ship directing a laser at an Australian patrol plane and other similar incidents in recent weeks.
In response to a question from The Australian Financial Review, General Wei said disputes over the South China Sea should be resolved by countries in the region. “Right now, non-regional countries are interfering, causing problems,” he said.
However, General Wei chose not to explain what China meant when he said that Australia would face serious consequences if it continued what Beijing considers “provocative actions” in the South China Sea.
General Wei told delegates on Sunday that China had peaceful goals, but would not hesitate to use force if its interests were threatened. He said countries outside the region were using freedom of navigation exercises as a pretext; the real intention was regional hegemony.
“The U.S. Indo-Pacific Strategy is an attempt to build an exclusive small group on behalf of an open Indo-Pacific. It’s a strategy to contain and encircle,” General Wei said.
He said any efforts to make Taiwan independent of China would trigger military action by Beijing. Although Taiwan is self-governing, Beijing still sees it as part of Greater China.
Foreign interference in Taiwan will fail, General Wei said. “The pursuit of Taiwan’s independence is a dead end. Stop the deception. The wheels of history will roll and no one will be able to stop China’s path to reunification.”
“China will definitely realize reunification. It is a great cause and no one can stop it. Peaceful reunification is the greatest desire of the Chinese people. Those seeking Taiwan’s independence in an attempt to divide China will not have a good ending, “he said.
Mourning speeches came after U.S. and Chinese defense leaders met on the sidelines of the summit on Friday. A reading of the talks released by the Chinese Ministry of Defense said that General Wei told Mr. Austin that the sale of U.S. weapons to Taiwan had “seriously undermined China’s national sovereignty and security interests.” .
“The one-China principle is the political basis of the China-US relationship, and the scheme of using Taiwan to contain China is doomed to failure,” General Wei said.
China and the United States also agreed during talks that their two armies should maintain high-level communication to manage their differences to prevent them from escalating into confrontation.
However, Chinese state media reported General Wei’s harshest remarks after the meeting, which reportedly said China was willing to fight in a war, regardless of the cost of protecting Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“Wei took the opportunity to let his American counterpart have no doubt that the People’s Liberation Army has no choice but to defend China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and he will fight. to crush any act of Taiwan segregation from China at any cost, even going to war. ” China Daily, a Communist Party spokesman, said in an editorial.
“Washington clearly misjudges the situation if it believes that China cannot afford or dare not engage in war with the United States and its allies.”
China also made it clear that Australia would be drawn into any conflict with the United States. The China Daily noted Australia’s involvement in planned military exercises with the United States in the South China Sea and its membership in the AUKUS security alliance.
“Australia and the United States also strengthened their determination to work together to contain China along with India and Japan at the Quad Summit in Tokyo, which was attended by Biden,” the China Daily said.