China criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday for his “provocative remarks”, saying Asian countries pose a legitimate threat to the Indo-Pacific.
Chinese Foreign Ministry said Heggs touted a "cold war mentality" in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Conference in Singapore on Saturday.
"Hergs deliberately ignored the appeals of states in the region for peace and development, but instead touted the idea of the Cold War as a collective confrontation, causing China to insult China with defamatory allegations and falsely called China a 'threat'," a statement from the ministry said.
"These remarks are full of provocations and are intended to sow discord," the statement continued. "China's opposition to them and strongly opposes them and strongly protests against the United States, and no country in the world should be called hegemonic power except the United States itself, which is also the main factor in undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region."
Heggs said we will strengthen defenses overseas to support Indo-Pacific allies against China
The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Heggs hailed the "Cold War mentality" in his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue Security Conference in Singapore. (AP)
On Saturday, Heggs said the U.S. would strengthen its defense capabilities overseas to deal with the Pentagon’s view as a threat to China’s rapid development, especially to Taiwan, with Beijing claiming it as its own.
this Chinese Army “Rehearsing for this real deal is being done,” Heggs said. “We are not going to icing – the threat posed by China is real. It may be imminent.”
The head of the Pentagon said that China no longer set up a military to take over Taiwan, but "has actively trained every day."
When resolving the dispute in Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said that this matter was an internal incident of China and the United States should "never fire up."
"No country can intervene," the statement said. "The United States should never imagine that it can use the Taiwan issue as a leverage on China. The United States must not get angry on this issue. China urges the United States to fully abide by the single-China principle and the three China joint communiqués and to stop supporting and dissuading the separatist 'Taiwan independence'."
Hegseth
Heggs said the U.S. will strengthen its defense capabilities overseas to deal with the Pentagon’s threat to China’s rapid development. (AP)
The statement also accused the United States of deploying offensive weapons in the South China Sea and "stimulating flames and creating tensions" in the Asia-Pacific region, which is "turning the region into a powder keg and bringing great concern to countries in the region".
In the South China Sea, the statement said: “There is no problem with freedom of navigation and off-road freedom there.”
"China has always been committed to working with relevant countries to properly handle differences through dialogue and consultation, while safeguarding China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with laws and regulations," the spokesperson said. "It is the main factor that undermines peace and stability in the South China Sea."
The statement concluded: "China urges the United States to fully respect the efforts of countries that maintain peace and stability in the region, to stop deliberately undermining the peaceful and stable environment cherished by the region, and to stop inciting conflicts, confronting and confronting and escalating tensions in the region."
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Zhang Xiaoda also said that Hergs' comments provoked China's policy stance.
The Chinese military “is rehearsing for the real deal” and the threat posed by it may be imminent, Heggs said. (AP)
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Hegseth vowed to promote U.S. defense overseas to respond to any threat from China, but the defense secretary insisted that the Indo-Pacific allies have made greater contributions to their defense.
"We asked, indeed we insisted that our allies and partners played their part in defense," he said on Saturday. "Sometimes it means having uncomfortable and difficult conversations."
The U.S. and China reached a deal last month to reduce each other's tariffs by 115% for 90 days to get negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantial agreement, but Trump said in a social media post on Friday that he would no longer be "good" with China and accused Beijing of violating non-professional agreements,