Biden’s Secretary of Defense Austin received demands from China’s top military general in their first call with each other.
It’s hard to believe that Biden’s Secretary of Defense took this long to make his first call with the top military general in China but that’s what just reportedly happened. The results of the call didn’t go so well for Lloyd Austin.
The American Military News reports:
During the first official phone call between U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, the Chinese official demanded the U.S. “stop conducting military provocations at sea.”
The Chinese side has published a readout of the conversation between Austin and Wei, in which Wei asserted that Taiwan is an “inalienable” part of China’s territory and that is a fact that cannot be changed. Wei said if issues with respect to Taiwan are not handled properly, it will undermine the working relationship between the U.S. and China and China will “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity.”
“China requires the U.S. to stop conducting military provocations at sea,” the Chinese side said. “And not to use the Ukraine issue to smear, frame or threaten China.”
Austin and Wei spoke by phone for the first time on Wednesday, more than a year after Austin assumed his current position as defense secretary. According to the Associated Press, Austin had tried for months to set up a call with Gen. Xu Qiliang — the highest-ranking uniformed officer in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) military structure — but the Chinese side insisted he speak instead with Wei.
The Daily Mail reported on the call as well.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held a rare phone call with his Chinese counterpart who warned him that Taiwan is part of China – amid signals that Russia’s war on Ukraine is impacting how planners are viewing a potential conflict.
Taiwan is a part of China and no one can change that, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said on Wednesday during a rare phone call with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to a statement from Beijing.
‘If the Taiwan issue were not handled properly, it would have a damaging impact on Sino-U.S. relations,’ Wei added, according to a statement published by the defense ministry.
With Russia invading Ukraine and destroying the country there, many are concerned that China will do the same with Taiwan. China has been going after Taiwan since the country was first ruled in the late 1940’s by the current government.
Most recently China has flown multiple aircraft near the island nation.
As the Russia-Ukraine Tension Rises, China Sends 39 Aircraft Over Taiwan’s Air Defense Zone
Taiwan is no Ukraine however. It has a prosperous economy and a very modern city center in Taipei.. If China invades Taiwan, it could be worse than Ukraine.