Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], November 2 (ANI): US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth expressed grave concern over China’s rising army assertiveness round Taiwan and within the South China Sea throughout his first face-to-face assembly with China’s Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun in Malaysia on October 31.
The assembly, held alongside a summit of Southeast Asian defence chiefs, adopted a day after US President Donald Trump’s talks with Chinese chief Xi Jinping in South Korea, as reported by The Epoch Times.
According to The Epoch Times, Hegseth acknowledged on X that he underscored the ‘significance of sustaining a stability of energy within the Indo-Pacific,’ emphasising America’s issues about China’s growing actions that threaten Taiwan and regional allies.
The Pentagon chief reiterated that whereas Washington doesn’t search confrontation, it ‘will proceed to firmly defend its pursuits’ and preserve enough army presence to make sure regional stability.
During the assembly, Admiral Dong Jun repeated the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) long-held place on Taiwan, demanding that the United States act ‘cautiously’ on points associated to the island. He urged Washington to undertake a stance that ‘firmly opposes Taiwan independence.’
Despite these warnings, Hegseth reaffirmed that the US stands dedicated to Taiwan’s defence according to current US legislation.
Although the CCP has by no means ruled Taiwan, it continues to say the self-ruled democracy as a part of its territory and has not dominated out utilizing army power to grab management.
Over current years, China has intensified its coercive techniques, conducting in depth army drills, sending warplanes close to Taiwan’s airspace virtually day by day, and heightening fears of a attainable battle within the Taiwan Strait, as highlighted by The Epoch Times.
US intelligence assessments point out that Xi Jinping has directed the Chinese army to organize for a possible invasion by 2027.
During his go to to Tokyo earlier this week, Hegseth warned that Beijing’s speedy army build-up represents a ‘actual and pressing risk’ to the Indo-Pacific.
Praising Japan’s choice to strengthen its defence capabilities, he emphasised that the US-Japan alliance stays important to deterring Chinese aggression and safeguarding peace throughout the area, as reported by The Epoch Times. (ANI)