SINGAPORE: China will "fight to the very end" to stop Taiwan from declaring independence, the country's defence minister vowed Sunday, stoking already soaring tensions with the United States over the island.
It was the latest salvo in a growing war of words between the superpowers over the self-ruled, democratic island, which Beijing views as part of its territory awaiting reunification.
Frequent Chinese aerial incursions near Taiwan have raised the diplomatic temperature, and on Saturday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin accused Beijing of "destabilising" military activity in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit.
Defence Minister Wei Fenghe hit back in a fiery address at the same event, saying Beijing had "no choice" but to fight if attempts are made to separate Taiwan from China.
"We will fight at all cost, and we will fight to the very end," he said.
"No one should ever underestimate the resolve and ability of the Chinese armed forces to safeguard its territorial integrity."
"Those who pursue Taiwanese independence in an attempt to split China will definitely come to no good end," he added.
Wei on Sunday also said that it was up to the United States to improve the bilateral relationship, as ties were at a critical juncture.
Repeating several times at the security meeting that China only sought peace and stability, and was not an aggressor, he called on the United States to "strengthen solidarity and oppose confrontation and division".
He said China firmly rejected "US smearing, accusations and even threats" in Austin's speech on Saturday.
"We request the US side to stop smearing and containing China. Stop interfering in China's internal affairs. The bilateral relationship cannot improve unless the US side can do that," Wei said.
Austin said on Saturday there had been an "alarming" increase in the number of unsafe and unprofessional encounters between Chinese planes and vessels with those of other countries. He added that the United States would stand by its allies, including Taiwan.
The pair held their first face-to-face talks on the sidelines of the summit in Singapore on Friday, during which they clashed over Taiwan.
MYRIAD DISPUTES
Tensions over Taiwan have escalated in particular due to increasing Chinese military aircraft incursions into the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).
President Joe Biden, during a visit to Japan last month, appeared to break decades of US policy when, in response to a question, he said Washington would defend Taiwan militarily if it was attacked by China.
The White House has since insisted its policy of "strategic ambiguity" over whether or not it would intervene had not changed.
The dispute is just the latest between Washington and Beijing, who have clashed over everything from the South China Sea to human rights in Hong Kong and Xinjiang.
China's expansive claims to the sea, through which trillions of dollars in shipping trade passes annually, have stoked tensions with rival claimants, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.
China, whose historical claims were rejected in a landmark 2016 Hague ruling, has been accused of flying its planes and sailing its boats close to the coastlines of rival claimants, and of intercepting patrol planes in international airspace in a dangerous fashion.
Wei insisted Sunday that China respects freedom of navigation in the seas, and took a veiled swipe at Washington.
"Some big power has long practised navigation hegemony on the pretext of freedom of navigation," he said. "It has flexed its muscles by sending warships and warplanes on a rampage in the South China Sea."
The United States and China have also been at loggerheads over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with Washington accusing Beijing of providing tacit support for Moscow.
Wei made a point of saying on Sunday that China supported peace talks and opposed "providing weapons, applying maximum pressure".
"What is the root cause of this crisis? Who is the mastermind behind this? Who loses the most? And who stands to gain the most? Who is promoting peace and who is adding fuel to the fire? I think we all know the answers to these questions," he said, without addressing them or stating China's position.
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