SINGAPORE/LONDON: China’s defence minister has warned that war with the United States would be an “unbearable disaster” for the world.
In his first major speech since taking on the role at a security summit, General Li Shangfu said “some countries” were intensifying an arms race in Asia. But he said the world was big enough for both China and the United States, and the two superpowers should seek common ground.
Earlier the United States alleged “unsafe” manoeuvres by a Chinese destroyer near a United States warship in the Taiwan strait. On Saturday, the US navy said a Chinese destroyer sailed “in an unsafe manner” near an American warship as it transited the Taiwan Strait with Canadian vessels.
China criticised both countries for “deliberately provoking risk”. Canada and the US said they were sailing where international law allows.
Gen Li, who became defence minister in March, accused the United States of a “Cold War mentality” and added this was “greatly increasing security risks”.
In his speech, he said China wouldn’t allow naval patrols by the United States and its partners to be “a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation”.
Asked about the incident in the Taiwan Strait, the Chinese official said that countries from outside the region were increasing tensions. He was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, the Asia-Pacific region’s annual security meeting.
China has rejected a United States request for direct military negotiations in protest at sanctions placed on Gen Li by the United States in 2018 over arms purchases from Russia. At the Singapore summit, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin rebuked China for refusing to hold military negotiations.
Despite the diplomatic tussle, a prominent United States official has arrived in China for a week of wide-ranging negotiations.
Ties between Beijing and Washington have been strained in recent years over many issues, including China’s claim over Taiwan and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
