UPDATE – Chinese defense chief pushes back US 'concern' on Taiwan

CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK; UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun on Friday pushed back US concerns over Taiwan as he held his first official meeting with American counterpart, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in Singapore.

Dong and Austin met for around 75 minutes on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-la Dialogue.

“Taiwan issue is purely China's internal affairs and external forces have no right to interfere,” Dong told Austin, according to China’s Defense Ministry.

Austin had expressed “concern” about the “provocative” People’s Liberation Army activity around the Taiwan Strait, the Pentagon said in a statement after the meeting.

He “reiterated that the PRC (People's Republic of China) should not use Taiwan's political transition — part of a normal, routine democratic process — as a pretext for coercive measures,” the statement said.

China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, staged two days of war games around the island after the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te last week.

The US had sent an “unofficial” delegation to attend Lai’s inauguration, while two delegations of lawmakers visited Taipei soon after Lai assumed power.

“China firmly opposes the US' serious violation of its commitments and sending wrong signals to ‘Taiwan independence’,” Dong said, adding that Washington should “earnestly correct its mistakes and not to ‘use force to support independence’ in any way."

- One-China policy

Austin had also underscored that Washington “remains committed to its longstanding one-China policy."

In an apparent reference to the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait, he “made clear that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international law allows,” it added.

The US defense secretary also discussed with Dong Russia's war on Ukraine, and the “PRC's role in supporting Russia's defense industrial base.”

He also expressed concerns about “recent provocations” from North Korea, including “its direct contributions to Russia's ongoing assault on Ukraine."

- 'Positive, practical and constructive'

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Sr. Col. Wu Qian told a news conference that the official engagement between Dong, appointed last December, and Austin was “positive, practical and constructive.”

It was the first official meeting between the two top defense ministers since 2022, when China cut military communication lines with the US after former House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.

But when Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden met in San Francisco last November, the duo decided to resume militray-to-military communications.

While no US defense chief has visited China since Jim Mattis in 2018, the two sides held high-level military talks in November 2022 when Austin met former Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe in Cambodia.