U.S., Chinese defence chiefs stand firm over Taiwan in first meeting

Shafaq News / The defence chiefs of China and the United States held face-to-face talks for the first time on Friday, with both sides standing firm on their opposing views over Taiwan's right to rule itself.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe met on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore for nearly an hour, double the time initially allotted.

Austin and Wei's first face-to-face meeting comes as U.S. President Joe Biden is seeking to spend more time on Asian security issues after months of focus on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The two defence chiefs spoke by phone in April.

Although both sides say they want to better manage their relationship, Beijing and Washington remain polarised over several volatile security situations, from Taiwan's sovereignty to China's military activity in the South China Sea and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

After the meeting, Chinese and U.S. officials highlighted the cordiality of proceedings in a sign it could help open the door to more communication between the two militaries.

However, there was no evidence of any breakthrough on settling long-running security disputes.

Wei said the talks "went smoothly". A Chinese defence ministry spokesman later said Wei reiterated Beijing's firm stance on Taiwan, which is that it is part of China.

"The PLA (People's Liberation Army) would have no choice but to fight at any cost and crush any attempt of Taiwan independence, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesman said.

Austin called on China to "refrain from further destabilising actions" on Taiwan, a U.S. statement issued after the talks said.

(Reuters)