There are “clear and credible” signs that Beijing “is preparing to be able to use military violence in order to change the equilibrium of power in the Indopazacifik,” said Hegseth on Saturday at the Shangri-LA security conference. The Chinese army expands its strength and trial “for an emergency”. China’s President Xi Jinping “had ordered his military to be able to bump into Taiwan by 2027”. The People’s Republic wants to “dominate and control” Asia.
China sees the democratic and self -governing Taiwan as a renegade province that is to be reunited with the mainland – if necessary with military violence. The People’s Republic keeps holding large military maneuvers in the sea area in front of Taiwan. The United States, in turn, is the most important supplier of armaments to Taiwan. Over the past 50 years, the United States has sold military equipment and ammunition to Taiwan, including F-16 fighter planes and warships.
China’s behavior is a “wake -up call,” said Hegseth in Singapore. He also accused the People’s Republic of pressing neighboring countries and “illegally confiscating and militaining land in the South China Sea”. China claims almost the entire sea area. The Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Brunei reject these requirements.
Beijing “disapproved” of the speech by the Pentagon boss, it said in a statement by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. “The United States should not try to use the topic of Taiwan as a means of pressure to keep China at bay,” it said.
China’s Defense Minister Dong Jun had not traveled to the conference in Singapore. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the dealings with Taiwan as China’s “inner matter”, into which foreign powers should not interfere.
The Foreign Ministry in Beijing, China True “its territorial sovereignty and rights and interests in the sea in accordance with applicable law”, said Hegseth’s allegations of expansion. The United States, on the other hand, transformed the Indopazacifik into a “powder barrel” by stationing weapons in the southern China Sea.
The security expert da Wei from Tsinghua University told Journalists that Hegseth said “very unfriendly” and “very confrontative” and fair with two levels. While Washington concerns Beijing to respect his neighboring countries, Canada and Greenland are harassing it.
Relations between the United States and China are currently particularly tense because of the trade conflict stipulated by President Donald Trump. At the beginning of April, the United States imposed high tariffs on imports from China and other countries, Beijing reacted to this. Trump then continued to raise the serves to Chinese products. 145 percent inches were due to many Chinese deliveries. In return, China raised 125 percent inches on most US imports.
In mid -May, Beijing and Washington then agreed to significantly reduce the mutual tariffs for 90 days.
At the same time as the conference in Singapore, the Chinese army held military exercises around a controversial reef in the South China Sea. The fish-rich Scarborough reef is located about 240 kilometers west of the Filipino main island of Luzon and almost 900 kilometers from the Chinese island of Hainan.
Hegseth asked the Asian allies of the United States to “quickly increase their defense ability”. Ducking has its price, the Asian countries should be oriented towards Europe, he added. Hegseth named Germany as a model for a country that wants to significantly increase its defense spending.
The EU foreign commissioner Kaja Kallas said at her appearance in Singapore that some European countries had already “recognized a long time ago” that the defense had to be invested. “It is good that we do more, but I want to emphasize that the security of Europe and the security in the Pacific room are closely connected,” she emphasized.
