The
United States warned China yesterday against threatening its
neighbours’ sovereignty and said Washington is investing in new military
technology to defend its Asian allies.
Washington and Beijing have
been vying for influence in the region, which hosts potential
flashpoints such as the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and the
Taiwan Strait.
Ties between the two powers are once again taking
centre stage at the weekend Singapore conference known as the Shangri-La
Dialogue, which gathers defence ministers and top military officials
from around the world.
While the forum is purely on security, the
discussions are being held against a backdrop of Sino-US trade tensions
and high-tech rivalry.
“China can and should have a cooperative
relationship with the rest of the region ... But behaviour that erodes
other nations’ sovereignty and sows distrust of China’s intentions must
end,” acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan told the forum.
“Until
it does, we stand against a myopic, narrow, and parochial vision of the
future, and we stand for the free and open order that has benefited us
all, including China.”
Washington has been pushing back against
Beijing’s aggressive militarisation of the South China Sea, where China
has staked “indisputable” ownership over almost the whole area and
rejects partial claims by Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and
Vietnam.
Beijing is also regularly angered by US and other warships
transiting through the Taiwan Strait, which it considers part of its
territorial waters.
A French warship entered the Strait in April, prompting a warning from China’s navy.
Yesterday, French minister of the armed forces Florence Parly said her country’s forces will not be forced from the region.
“We
will continue to sail more than twice a year in the South China Sea.
There will be objections, there will be dubious manoeuvres at sea. But
we will not be intimidated into accepting any fait accompli,” she told
the forum.
For the first time since 2011, China has sent its defence
minister, General Wei Fenghe, to the Singapore gathering. Wei is
scheduled to speak today, when he is expected to respond to Shanahan’s
remarks.
The Sino-US rivalry has placed many Asian countries in a
bind as they have deep military ties with Washington but enjoy strong
trade relations with Beijing.
“The uncertain relationship between the
US and China will remain as an explicit factor in shaping the stability
of the Asia-Pacific region particularly that of Southeast Asian
countries,” Malaysian Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu told the conference
yesterday.
“If anything happens in the South China Sea, the world
also will suffer. We have to increase our defence diplomacy. We love
America, we also love China.”
Shanahan said the United States was
investing heavily in new military technology to combat fresh threats and
maintain its superiority and capability to defend its Asian allies.
He
said North Korea “remains an extraordinary threat and requires
continued vigilance” and stressed Washington would continue to meet its
defence obligations to Taiwan, which China sees as part of its territory
to be reunified.
“The Indo-Pacific is our priority theatre. We are
where we belong. We are investing in the region,” he said, adding that
military investments will rise significantly over the next five years.
“We
want to ensure no adversary believes it can successfully achieve
political objectives through military force,” Shanahan said.
Shao
Yuanming, deputy chief of the joint staff department of China’s Central
Military Commission, on Saturday welcomed US efforts to stabilise
military ties, but slammed what he said were “erroneous remarks” by
Shanahan on the South China Sea and Taiwan.
“From the very beginning, Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” he said.
“China
must be unified... If anyone wants to split Taiwan from China, the
Chinese army will resolutely defend our motherland at all costs.”
The
two sides have been ruled separately since the end of a civil war on
the mainland in 1949 but China still sees Taiwan as part of its
territory to be reunified.
Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan looks on during the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore yesterday.