SINGAPORE \u2014 Conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be “devastating,” U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned on Saturday, in a speech at a security conference that provoked a sharp reaction from China.<\/p>\n
The whole world had a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a conference organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.<\/p>\n
“The security of commercial shipping lanes and global supply chains depends on it. And so does freedom of navigation worldwide. Make no mistake: conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating,” he said.<\/p>\n
The U.S. was “determined” to maintain peace and security in the area, he said.<\/p>\n
“And so are a number of other countries around the world and that number continues to grow.”<\/p>\n
China in turn accused Austin of “false accusations.” <\/p>\n
Responding to his speech in Singapore, a spokesman for the Chinese delegation, Jing Jianfeng, said that the U.S. was continuing a policy of domination in the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n
The U.S. was provoking a confrontation between blocs, he said, according to Chinese state media.<\/p>\n
The U.S. was expanding its troop deployments, holding regular military drills and was undermining peace and stability, he said.<\/p>\n
Austin had earlier asked his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu to meet on the sidelines of the conference. However, the Chinese side refused.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the talks, Li said China retains the right to use force to incorporate Taiwan into its territory, while continuing to seek peaceful “reunification.”<\/p>\n
Taiwan has been independent since 1949, but China considers the self-ruled democracy to be Chinese territory.<\/p>\n
Austin said he was “deeply concerned” that China “has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management.”<\/p>\n
“For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, the right time to talk is every time and the right time to talk is now,” he said.<\/p>\n
Li is expected to outline China’s new security agenda on Sunday.<\/p>\n
The Shangri-La Dialogue at the level of defence ministers is seen as the most significant security forum in the region. Forty countries have sent representatives. <\/p>\n
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, who met Li on Saturday, called for increased efforts to de-escalate the conflict over Taiwan. <\/p>\n
“We are not served well by isolating China,” he said on Saturday in Singapore after the official talks. <\/p>\n
Pistorius said there were multiple connections and interdependencies that could not simply be ignored. “So we have to minimize our risks, we have to reduce our dependencies,” Pistorius said.<\/p>\n
Pistorius also called on Li to stop a Chinese training programme that used former German fighter pilots. <\/p>\n
“I made it clear that I expect this practice to be stopped immediately,” Pistorius said.<\/p>\n
Li had reacted very cautiously, Pistorius said. <\/p>\n
Former fighter pilots from Germany have been training military pilots in China for years, according to German news magazine Spiegel and public broadcaster ZDF.<\/p>\n
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