After the Quad conference, once again a war of words has broken out between the US and China regarding Taiwan. This time China has said in clear words that if Taiwan declares independence, it will start a war. On Friday, Wu Qian quoted Defense Minister Wei Fenghe as saying during a meeting with Lloyd Austin, “If anyone tries to separate Taiwan from China, we will not hesitate to start a war, no matter what the cost.”
Wu Qian is a Chinese military officer. He is currently the Director and Spokesperson of the Bureau of Information in the Ministry of Defense of China. Lloyd Austin is the US Secretary of Defense. During the face-to-face talks between the two on Friday, Wu Qian gave this warning quoting his Defense Minister. In fact, from June 10, the 19th Shangri-La Dialogue has started in Singapore, it will run till June 12. Officials and scholars from more than 40 countries are participating in this annual conference. At the same conference, Austin told Wu Qian, ‘Beijing should avoid actions that destabilize Taiwan’.
There was rhetoric even during the quad
Not long ago, in a joint press conference with the Japanese Prime Minister at the Quad conference, US President Joe Biden threatened ‘military action’. Biden said, we agree on the One China policy. We have signed this policy. But Taiwan cannot be annexed to China by force. If Taiwan is attacked by China, America will take military action. Then Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, expressing strong objection to the statement of the US President, said, we will not compromise on the sovereignty and territorial unity of our country.
What is the fight about Taiwan?
In 1949, the Communist Party of China (CCP) led by Mao Zedong defeated the ruling Nationalist Party (Kuomintang). Beijing had been taken over by the CCP. The people of the Kuomintang had to flee. They all fled to an island located about 100 miles off the coast of southeast China. This island is Taiwan. China considers Taiwan a province of its own. Taiwan, on the other hand, describes itself as an independent country. However, only 13 countries around the world consider Taiwan a separate sovereign country. America is not included in these 13 countries. But still America keeps on favoring Taiwan from time to time. The reason for this is the islands near Taiwan (Guam and Hawaii) on which American military bases are.