China accuses Hegseth of ‘vilifying' remarks at security forum
US defence secretary Pete Hegseth called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to spend more on defence. (AP pic)
BEIJING : China has protested to the US over 'vilifying' remarks made by defence secretary Pete Hegseth, the foreign ministry said today, while accusing it of deliberately ignoring calls for peace from regional nations.
Beijing has objected to Hegseth calling it a threat in the Indo-Pacific, the ministry added, describing his comments at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore yesterday as 'deplorable' and 'intended to sow division'.
'Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat',' the ministry said on its website.
'The US has deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and kept stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific, which are turning the region into a powder keg,' the ministry added in the statement.
Hegseth had called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including key security ally Australia, to spend more on defence after warning of the 'real and potentially imminent' threat from China.
Asked about the call to boost defence spending, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had pledged an extra A$10 billion to defence.
'What we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy,' he told reporters today, a transcript of his remarks showed.
As part of Washington's longstanding defence ties with the Philippines, the US military this year deployed Typhon launchers that can fire missiles to hit targets in both China and Russia from the island of Luzon.
China and the Philippines contest sovereignty over some islands and atolls in the South China Sea, with growing maritime run-ins between their coast guards as both vie to patrol the waters.
The ministry also warned the US not to 'play with fire' on the Taiwan question.
In his speech at Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, military officials and diplomats, Hegseth said any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan 'would result in devastating consequences'.
China has vowed to 'reunify' with the separately governed island, by force if necessary. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, saying only the island's people can decide their future.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Free Malaysia Today
42 minutes ago
- Free Malaysia Today
EU agrees reprisals against China over medical devices
The restriction was the first time the EU used its 2022 International Procurement Instrument that allowed reciprocal measures. (EPA Images pic) BRUSSELS : EU countries voted on Monday to exclude Chinese companies from selling medical devices in the bloc in reprisal for Beijing curbing European imports in the sector, diplomats said. The restriction was the first time the European Union has used its International Procurement Instrument, a 2022 regulation that allows reciprocal measures when it comes to public procurement. The move was likely to increase trade tensions between Brussels and Beijing at a time of broadened commercial volatility brought on by Washington's swingeing tariffs. An EU diplomat speaking on condition of anonymity said the bloc's move adopting restrictions suggested by the European Commission were proportional, without giving details. An EU investigation concluded in January that China discriminated against EU medical devices in its public procurement, including in state-owned hospitals. The China Chamber of Commerce to the EU in a statement expressed 'profound disappointment over this decision'. It said it had 'serious concerns about the EU's move to limit Chinese enterprises' participation in the EU procurement market, particularly in the healthcare sector'.
Free Malaysia Today
15 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Chinese paraglider's thundercloud survival claim likely featured AI-faked video
The current record for a planned paragliding flight is 8,407m. (EPA Images pic) BEIJING : A Chinese paraglider's account of having been unwittingly swept into a thundercloud and dragged 8km into the sky has come under question after his video of the incident, carried by Chinese state media, turned out to have been likely faked in part. The video, originally posted after the paraglider's May 24 flight by his support team on Douyin, China's TikTok, employed artificial intelligence to fake some of the footage, according to a review by a digital security firm consulted by Reuters. The video's opening showed Peng Yujiang, 55, among the clouds, his face encrusted with ice. The video, which caused a sensation in paragliding circles, was aired in China and distributed internationally by state-run broadcaster CCTV. Other news providers also distributed the video, which was picked up globally. California-based digital security firm GetReal said it was 'fairly confident' the first five seconds of Peng Yujiang's video contained AI-generated images. There are also inconsistencies noted by GetReal and paragliders who pored over the video: Peng's legs are initially dangling without the insulating cocoon shown later. His helmet is first white, then black. Still, five expert paragliders interviewed by Reuters said it was possible Peng had flown to 8,589m as he claimed and survived. But four of them also challenged his claim that the flight had been an unavoidable accident, which Reuters is reporting for the first time. The current record for a planned flight is held by French pilot Antoine Girard who flew 8,407m over a stretch of the Himalayas in 2021. Peng recorded and then deleted his flight log on XContest, a website popular among paragliders, according to Jakub Havel, a Czech paraglider who helps run the forum. Havel said other flights by Peng remained on the site. 'Nobody intentionally lets themselves be sucked into a thunderstorm cloud in an attempt to break a record – it's something that any sane paragliding pilot tries to avoid at all costs,' said Havel, who said Peng's flight should not be considered a record. Peng could not be reached for comment. CCTV, which distributed the video on a platform owned by Reuters, could not be reached for comment. Like other Chinese media, CCTV faces a pending regulation from Beijing that requires all AI-generated content to be labelled as such from September. Contacted on the weekend, China's state council, which oversees and coordinates government policy, had no immediate comment. In a statement, Reuters said it had removed the CCTV package on Peng's flight from Reuters Connect, an online marketplace that carries material from more than 100 news organisations. 'This content is clearly labelled as third-party content and is not verified or endorsed by Reuters,' the statement said. 'When we became aware of a piece of content that likely contained AI-generated elements on the Reuters Connect platform, we investigated and took it down because the material does not comply with our partner content policy.' Storm clouds In a report published on Wednesday, the Gansu Aeronautical Sports Association said Peng had broken an altitude record after being swept off the ground by a strong wind while testing second-hand gear he had just bought. 'According to Peng, he didn't plan on taking off,' the report said. The association, a private group that oversees air sports in the province, did not respond to a request for comment. It deleted its report on Peng's flight from its WeChat account and by Thursday the association's website was blocked. The association suspended Peng from flying for six months. A member of his flight team was suspended for six months for releasing the video without authorisation. Expert pilots interviewed by Reuters said there were reasons to doubt Peng's flight was a fluke accident, saying he was either trying to make an unauthorised high ascent or should have seen the risk. Storm clouds like the one Peng flew in 'don't just appear above your head and hoover you into space. They build over a period of time,' said Daniel Wainwright, a flight instructor in Australia. 'He shouldn't have been flying.' The specialised heavy mittens shown in the video seem to undercut Peng's claim he had not intended to take off, said Brad Harris, president of the Tasmanian Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association. He said he believed Peng may have made up the accidental take-off to avoid sanction for entering restricted air space. 'These are not things you would normally wear or have ready if you were just ground-handling to test a wing,' Harris said. Godfrey Wenness, a former paragliding distance world record holder, said a veteran paraglider could have managed to reverse the extreme but manageable ascent shown in Peng's flight data. 'He was either inexperienced or he was trying to (keep climbing),' Wenness said. Wenness said, however, he believed Peng hit the altitude he claimed based on flight data posted on XContest and then deleted. That data has to be transferred from a GPS in a 'tamper-proof' format, he said. 'We conclude and are confident that the actual flight did occur,' he said.
Malay Mail
16 hours ago
- Malay Mail
Mushroom murder trial: Australian woman accused of killing three gives evidence, cites marital rift
SYDNEY, June 2 — An Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband's elderly relatives by serving them a lunch laced with poisonous mushrooms began giving evidence during her trial on Monday, in a case that has gripped the nation. Erin Patterson, 50, is charged with the July 2023 murders of her mother-in-law Gail Patterson, father-in-law Donald Patterson and Gail's sister, Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson, Heather's husband, in a case that has gripped Australia. All four fell ill after a lunch of Beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans, the court has heard. Prosecutors allege the accused laced the meal with highly poisonous death cap mushrooms at her home in Leongatha, a town of around 6,000 people some 135km from Melbourne. Erin Patterson denies the charges, with her defence saying the deaths were a 'terrible accident'. Beginning her evidence towards the end of the day's session, Erin Patterson said on Monday her relationship with estranged husband Simon Patterson had been in difficulty shortly after they married in 2007. 'We could never communicate in a way that would make each of us feel heard and understood,' she told the court. She had also grown apart from Simon's parents, Donald and Gail, at the time of their deaths, she added. 'I had felt for some months that my relationship with the wider Patterson family, particularly Don and Gail, had a bit more distance or space put between us,' she said. Earlier on Monday the prosecution rested its case, following a month of evidence from witnesses, including relatives and medical, forensic and mushroom experts. Simon Patterson gave evidence earlier in the trial, characterising the relationship between him and the accused as strained at the time of the alleged murders. The trial, that began on April 29, has seen intense interest from Australian and international media, with podcasters, journalists and documentary-makers descending on the town of Morwell, around two hours east of Melbourne, where the trial is being held. Erin Patterson is expected to resume her evidence on Tuesday, when the trial continues. — Reuters
