BEIJING — China has warned the United States against “playing with fire” over Taiwan in response to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling the Asian power a “threat to the region” at a high-profile summit in Singapore.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday, Hegseth said China was “credibly preparing” for military action to shift Asia’s power balance, accusing Beijing of rehearsing a potential invasion of Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan, a separately governed island, to be a part of its territory and has vowed reunification by force if necessary. Taiwan’s government rejects Beijing’s sovereignty claims, saying only the island’s people can decide their future.
Hegseth’s remarks provoked a swift rebuke from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which stressed that Taiwan remains a domestic matter, warning foreign powers against using the issue as leverage. It described US actions in Asia Pacific as turning the region into a “powder keg”.
“The US should not entertain illusions about using the Taiwan question as a bargaining chip to contain China, nor should it play with fire,” it said.
Hegseth had called on allies in the Asia Pacific region, including key security ally Australia, to spend more on defence after warning of the “real and potentially imminent” threat from China.
Calling the US a “true destabilising” force in the Asia Pacific, Beijing accused Washington of deploying offensive weapons in the South China Sea and aggravating regional tensions.
Beijing accused Hegseth of “vilifying China with defamatory allegations” and promoting a “Cold War mentality”.
“Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a threat,” the ministry said, adding that it had lodged a formal protest with the US over what it described as “inflammatory rhetoric”.
China and the Philippines contest sovereignty over some islands and atolls in the South China Sea, with growing maritime run-ins between their coastguards as both vie to patrol the waters.
Beijing also rejected US claims about threats to maritime navigation, insisting it has consistently promoted dialogue to resolve regional disputes and safeguarded its territorial rights within the bounds of international law.
“The US is the biggest factor undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea,” the statement read.
China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun skipped the annual Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s premier security forum, with Beijing sending a delegation of lower-ranking representatives instead.
It was the first time since 2019 that China has not dispatched its defence minister to the high-level dialogue on regional defence, except when the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tensions are already high between China and the US – the world’s two biggest economic powers – over Trump’s ongoing trade war and tariff threats. I aje
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