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China Defense spokesman says his country will ‘not hesitate to start a war’ over Taiwan
Beijing will “not hesitate to start a war” if Taiwan declares independence, China’s defense minister warned his US counterpart Friday (June 10) in the pair’s first face-to-face talks, officials said.
“If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,” Wu Qian quoted Defense Minister Wei Fenghe as saying during a meeting with Lloyd Austin.
According to the Chinese defense ministry, the Chinese minister also vowed that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any ‘Taiwan independence’ plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland.”
The ministry said that he “stressed that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan... Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail.”
Chinese embassy in U.S. urges Washington to cancel Nancy Pelosi's trip to Taiwan
The US Department of Defense said, Austin told his Chinese counterpart during the talks in Singapore that Beijing must “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan.”
Taiwan, a self-ruled, democratic island, lives under the constant threat of invasion by China. Beijing views the island as its territory and has vowed to one day seize it, by force if necessary.
Source: alarabiyaenglish
