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BEIJING (Reuters) – China will never give up an inch of its territory, be it the autonomous island of Taiwan it claims, or in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, said Thursday the minister of National Defense.
PHOTO FILE: Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe Addresses Defense Ministers of ASEAN Countries at Meeting at Defense Ministers' Meeting of Countries of ASEAN in Singapore, 19 October 2018. REUTERS / Edgar Su
Beijing has been exasperated by recent US sanctions on its military, one of many hot spots in Washington, including a fierce trade war, Taiwan's increasingly military stance and China's Southern China.
Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe made the remarks at the opening of the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, which China terms as a response to the Shangri-La Dialogue's annual forum on security in the rich city. -State of Singapore.
The military ties between China and the United States are important and sensitive, Wei added, adding that Taiwan was a "fundamental" interest for China and that Beijing was opposed to demonstrations of force by "external forces". in the South China Sea.
US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis told his Chinese counterpart that the world's two largest economies needed to deepen their relations at the highest level in order to overcome tensions and limit the risk of conflict inadvertently.
Mattis was able to see firsthand how friction between Sino and the United States could undermine military contacts when Beijing canceled plans to meet Wei in October.
China has been irritated by the US sanctions imposed on its army for buying weapons from Russia and by what Beijing sees as a reinforcement of US aid to democracy in Taiwan, which it claims as a sacred territory.
China also expressed concern after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington would withdraw from a historic Cold War era treaty that eliminated nuclear missiles from Europe. because Russia violated the pact.
China is not party to this treaty, but Trump also suggested that the Beijing military force played a role in its decision, which China has described as "completely false".
On Monday, the United States sent two warships into the Taiwan Strait during the second such operation this year.
Sino-Taiwanese relations have deteriorated since the island's president, Tsai Ing-wen, of the Progressive Democratic Party at independence, came to power in 2016.
Beijing, which has never given up the use of force to place Taiwan under its control, has also been concerned about the opening of the United States to the island, such as the United States. new de facto embassy and enactment of a law encouraging visits by US officials.
Report of Ben Blanchard; Written by Christian Shepherd; Edited by Clarence Fernandez
