China on Sunday warned the United States it “should not play with fire” over Taiwan and stated it had lodged “representations” with Washington over feedback made by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth at a summit in Singapore.
The US secretary of defence used his speech at an annual safety discussion board on Saturday to warn that China was “credibly preparing” to make use of navy drive to upend the stability of energy in Asia.
He added that the Chinese navy was constructing the capabilities to invade Taiwan and “rehearsing for the real deal”.
In a press release launched simply after midnight, China‘s international ministry stated it had “lodged solemn representations with the US side” over Hegseth’s feedback, including that it “strongly deplores” his remarks.
“The US should not try to use the Taiwan issue as a bargaining chip to contain China and should not play with fire,” it stated.
Beijing, which didn’t ship its defence minister Dong Jun to the Singapore summit, referred to as the “Taiwan issue” China’s “internal affair” and stated international international locations had no proper to intervene.
China considers the self-ruled democratic island as its territory and has not dominated out utilizing drive to take management of it.
Hegseth additionally accused Beijing of “illegally seizing and militarising lands” within the disputed South China Sea.
Beijing claims nearly all the waterway, regardless of a world ruling that its assertion has no benefit.
The international ministry on Sunday claimed there had “never been any issue” with navigation within the waterway.
China “is committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with the law”, a ministry spokesperson stated.
Beijing additionally accused the United States of turning the Indo-Pacific area right into a “powder keg” by deploying weapons within the South China Sea.
Source: www.anews.com.tr