Chinese minister of national defense, General Li Shangfu, has warned of the dangers of a severe conflict erupting between Beijing and Washington. Deploring how relations between the two countries have plummeted to a “record low,” Li told the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue defense summit in Singapore:
“It is undeniable that a severe conflict or confrontation between China and the US would be an unbearable disaster for the world.”
According to the minister, appointed to the post back in March, China “believes that a big power should behave like one, instead of provoking bloc confrontation for self-interest.”
Li called on Washington to “take concrete action” with Beijing to find common ground and avert a scenario where ties might further deteriorate.
The minister then proceeded to accuse “some country” of foisting its “rules-based international order” on others.
“It practices exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries,” he told those attending the defense conference, without specifically naming the US.
Li Shangfu underscored that China was, "strongly opposed to imposing one’s own will on others, placing one’s own interests above those of others and pursuing one’s own security at the expense of others.”
Li did not sit down for an official meeting with his US counterpart at the summit, with earlier reports indicating that Beijing warned there was “little chance of a meeting” between the two due to a spat over sanctions. Li was slapped with the US restrictions over Chinese imports of Russian arms in 2018, when he was serving as a general, it was underscored.
'Hegemony of Navigation'
Li Shangfu also weighed in on Saturday's "provocative" transit incident in the Taiwan Strait involving US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer the USS Chung-Hoon and Royal Canadian Navy Halifax-class frigate the HMCS Montreal.
According to the US Navy, a Chinese destroyer sailed "in an unsafe manner" near the American warship as it transited the Taiwan Strait. However, China criticized the US and Canada for "deliberately provoking risk."
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Eastern Theater Command stated that it had organized naval and aerial forces to handle the situation in accordance with law and regulations.
“What is key now is that we must prevent attempts to use freedom of navigation … as a pretext to exercise hegemony of navigation… Every day, I see a lot of information about foreign vessels and fighter jets coming to areas near our territory. They are not here for innocent passage. They are here for provocation,” stated Li.
The Chinese minister added:
“The best way to prevent incidents is for other countries, especially their naval vessels and fighter jets, to not manoeuvre close to other countries’ territories. What’s the point going there? In China, we always say, ‘mind your own business.’”
Elsewhere during the annual security forum, Li Shangfu warned against forming NATO-like alliances in the Asia-Pacific, which he said is fraught with consequences for the region. While the Chinese defense chief did not explicitly name any country, he appeared to be referring to the US, which is currently part of several alliances and partnerships across the region, such as the AUKUS alliance, which groups it with Australia and the UK, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD) with Australia, India, and Japan, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) initiative.
"… In essence, to push for" such alliances in the region is "a way of kidnapping regional countries and fuelling confrontation, which will only plunge the Asia-Pacific into a whirlpool of disputes and conflicts," the Chinese general cautioned.
Regarding the hot-button issue of Taiwan, Li reiterated that the island was at the “core of China’s core interests."
“Taiwan is China’s Taiwan, and how to resolve the Taiwan question is a matter for the Chinese to decide,” Li was cited as saying.
Earlier, Beijing’s vice chief for the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department, Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, said at the summit that the US military frequently transits through the Taiwan Strait “to flex muscles” and that it prompts other countries to “interfere in the Taiwan question."Jianfeng specifically accused US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin of attempting to “pull out of Beijing’s one-China principle.”
“The US’ comments on Taiwan ignore the facts, distort the truth and are completely wrong... First, there’s only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory," Jing said on the sidelines of the summit.