The Chinese Defence Minister Adm. Dong Jun warned on Sunday that his military is ready to “forcefully” stop Taiwan Independence. He vowed that anyone who aims to separate Taiwan from China will face “self-destruction”.
The Shangri-La Dialogue
The remarks were made at the annual security forum held in Singapore followed by face-to-face talks in 18 months.
Shangri-La Dialogue: Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun made remarks on the South China Sea issue.
🔹Regarding the “freedom of navigation” exercises by the U.S., he notes that in decades, there has never been one incident where civilian ships had their freedom of navigation… pic.twitter.com/zUER4sNyNG
— Yawen Xu (@YawenXu17) June 3, 2024
The admiral, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue called the “forces for Taiwan independence” to “abandon the illusion and return to the right track of reunification.”
“We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet each other halfway,” Dong told the Shangri-La Dialogue where he met with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday.
“We believe that we need more exchanges precisely because there are differences between our two militaries.”
After the meeting, Austin said that “in the coming months”, telephone conversations between US and Chinese military commanders would resume.
“The Chinese People’s Liberation Army has always been an indestructible and powerful force in defence of the unification of the motherland, and it will act resolutely and forcefully at all times to curb the independence of Taiwan and to ensure that it never succeeds in its attempts,” Dong told the forum on Sunday.
Dong’s Taiwan attack
The Chinese side has made it clear that Taiwan is an “unbreakable” part of China. Taiwan which claims to be an independent country face threats from the Chinese military. The Chinese air force has repeatedly violated the Taiwanese airspace calling for the US’s reaction.
“Anyone who dares to separate Taiwan from China will only end up in self-destruction,” he said.
In response to questions, Dong reiterated China’s position that Taiwan is part of China and said Beijing is committed to peaceful reunification.
Taiwan has recently elected their new president which again led to sanctions from China. The spokesperson emphasised the “One China” principle calling the statement from newly elected Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te “blatant”.
He also accused the ruling Democratic Progressive Party of trying to change the island’s constitution to “erase the Chinese identity,” preventing people-to-people exchanges between Taiwan and mainland China as well as increasing its military capability to push for independence.
‘Outside forces’
The defence minister claimed that some ‘outside forces’ are trying to separate Taiwan from China. “We know some big power keeps hollowing out the ‘One China’ principle, distorted facts and even misinterpret U.N. General Assembly resolutions,” Dong said.
“They keep testing China’s red lines, such as official engagement and arms sales to Taiwan,” he said.
“These kinds of behaviour send very wrong signals to the Taiwan independence forces and make them become very aggressive. I think it’s it’s clear what is the foreign power’s purpose: they try to contain China using Taiwan.”
South China Sea
Dong addressed questions on the South China Sea and attacked the Filipino administration. He claimed that the Philippines illegally grounded its landing ship and said they were working on peace.
“But recently, they start to not recognize [these agreements] at all. This is a unilateral reneging of their promise… I think this is blackmail and hijacking rules. We’re always talking about robust international order, [but] I think this is not even morally right,” he said.
In contrast, the Chinese defence chief characterized actions taken by China’s Coast Guard as “very restrained in accordance with our law.”
“Our policy is consistent for the past many decades. We’re committed to the peaceful resolution of the disputes. But I also want to say, our tolerance for deliberate provocation will be limited.”
