Latest news with #ColdWarMentality
Fox News
3 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
China accuses Hegseth of espousing 'Cold War mentality' for labeling country as a threat: 'Vilified'
China criticized U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday for his "vilified" remarks "filled with provocations" in which he said the Asian country poses a legitimate threat in the Indo-Pacific. The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Hegseth touted a "Cold War mentality" when he delivered his speech on Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore. "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,'" a spokesperson for the ministry said in a statement. "The remarks were filled with provocations and intended to sow discord," the statement continued. "China deplores and firmly opposes them and has protested strongly to the U.S. No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself, which is also the primary factor undermining the peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific." On Saturday, Hegseth said the U.S. will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon views as rapidly developing threats by China, particularly toward Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own. The Chinese army "is rehearsing for the real deal," Hegseth said. "We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent." The Pentagon chief said China is no longer building up its military forces to take Taiwan, but it is "actively training for it, every day." Addressing the dispute over Taiwan, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in its statement that the matter is China's internal affair and that the U.S. should "never play with fire." "No country is in a position to interfere," the statement said. "The US should never imagine it could use the Taiwan question as leverage against China. The US must never play with fire on this question. China urges the US to fully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-US joint communiqués, and stop supporting and emboldening the 'Taiwan independence' separatist forces." The statement also accused the U.S. of deploying offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and "stoking flames and creating tensions" in the Asia-Pacific, which it said was "turning the region into a powder keg and making countries in the region deeply concerned." In the South China Sea, the statement said there "has never been any problem with regard to freedom of navigation and overflight there." "China has always been committed to working with countries concerned 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 U.S. that is the primary factor hurting the peace and stability in the South China Sea." The statement concluded: "China urges the U.S. to fully respect the efforts of countries in the region to maintain peace and stability, stop deliberately destroying the peaceful and stable environment cherished by the region, and stop inciting conflict and confrontation and escalating tensions in the region." Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang also called Hegseth's comments a provocation that distorted China's policy positions. While Hegseth vowed to boost U.S. defenses overseas to counter any possible threat from China, the defense secretary insisted that allies in the Indo-Pacific also contribute more to their own defense. "We ask, and indeed we insist, that our allies and partners do their part on defense," he said on Saturday. "Sometimes that means having uncomfortable and tough conversations." The U.S. and China reached a deal last month to cut tariffs on each other by 115% for 90 days to allow time for negotiators from both sides to come to a more substantive agreement, but Trump said in a social media post on Friday that he would no longer be "nice" with China when it comes to trade and accused Beijing of breaking an unspecified agreement with the U.S.
Asharq Al-Awsat
4 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
China Says Hegseth Is Touting a Cold War Mentality in Calling It a Threat
China on Sunday denounced US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for calling the Asian country a threat, accusing him of touting a Cold War mentality as tensions between Washington and Beijing further escalate. The foreign ministry said Hegseth had vilified Beijing with defamatory allegations the previous day before at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference. The statement also accused the United States of inciting conflict and confrontation in the region. 'Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,' it said, referring to the post-World War II rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union. 'No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself,' it said, alleging that Washington is also undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China's army 'is rehearsing for the real deal,' Hegseth said. 'We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.' The Chinese statement stressed that the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affair, saying the US must 'never play with fire' with it. It also alleged Washington had deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea, was 'stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific' and "turning the region into a powder keg.' In a Facebook post on Saturday, China's Embassy in Singapore said Hegseth's speech was 'steeped in provocations and instigation.' The US and China had reached a deal last month to cut US President Donald Trump's tariffs from 145% to 30% for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125% to 10%. But it's uncertain if a trade war truce will last. Trump in a social media post on Friday said he would no longer be 'nice' with China when it comes to trade and accused Beijing of breaking an unspecified agreement with the US. Tensions escalated anew after the US said on Wednesday it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying there. Separately, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore criticized attempts to link the issue of Taiwan with that of the war in Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a dangerous double standard in focusing on a potential conflict with China at the cost of abandoning Ukraine. The embassy made no mention of Macron in its post on Facebook that included a photo showing the French president at the Singapore forum. 'If one tries to denounce 'double standards' through the lens of a double standard, the only result we can get is still double standard,' it said. China, which usually sends its defense minister to the Shangri-La forum, this time sent a lower-level delegation led by Maj. Gen. Hu Gangfeng, the vice president of the People's Liberation Army National Defense University.
Arab News
4 days ago
- Business
- Arab News
China says Hegseth is touting a Cold War mentality in calling it a threat
BEJING: China on Sunday denounced US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for calling the Asian country a threat, accusing him of touting a Cold War mentality as tensions between Washington and Beijing further escalate. The foreign ministry said Hegseth had vilified Beijing with defamatory allegations the previous day before at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a global security conference. The statement also accused the United States of inciting conflict and confrontation in the region. 'Hegseth deliberately ignored the call for peace and development by countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation,' it said, referring to the post-World War II rivalry between the US and the former Soviet Union. 'No country in the world deserves to be called a hegemonic power other than the US itself,' it said, alleging that Washington is also undermining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. Hegseth said in Singapore on Saturday that Washington will bolster its defenses overseas to counter what the Pentagon sees as rapidly developing threats by Beijing, particularly in its aggressive stance toward Taiwan. China's army 'is rehearsing for the real deal,' Hegseth said. 'We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.' The Chinese statement stressed that the Taiwan question is entirely China's internal affair, saying the US must 'never play with fire' with it. It also alleged Washington had deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea, was 'stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific' and 'turning the region into a powder keg.' In a Facebook post on Saturday, China's Embassy in Singapore said Hegseth's speech was 'steeped in provocations and instigation.' The US and China had reached a deal last month to cut US President Donald Trump's tariffs from 145 percent to 30 percent for 90 days, creating time for negotiators from both sides to reach a more substantive agreement. China also reduced its taxes on US goods from 125 percent to 10 percent. But it's uncertain if a trade war truce will last. Trump in a social media post on Friday said he would no longer be 'nice' with China when it comes to trade and accused Beijing of breaking an unspecified agreement with the US Tensions escalated anew after the US said on Wednesday it would start revoking visas for Chinese students studying there. Separately, the Chinese Embassy in Singapore criticized attempts to link the issue of Taiwan with that of the war in Ukraine after French President Emmanuel Macron warned of a dangerous double standard in focusing on a potential conflict with China at the cost of abandoning Ukraine. The embassy made no mention of Macron in its post on Facebook that included a photo showing the French president at the Singapore forum. 'If one tries to denounce 'double standards' through the lens of a double standard, the only result we can get is still double standard,' it said. China, which usually sends its defense minister to the Shangri-La forum, this time sent a lower-level delegation led by Maj. Gen. Hu Gangfeng, the vice president of the People's Liberation Army National Defense University.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
China accuses US's Hegseth of 'vilifying' remarks at security forum
BEIJING (Reuters) -China has protested to the United States over "vilifying" remarks made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, while accusing it of deliberately ignoring calls for peace from regional nations. China 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 on Saturday 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. Hegseth had called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to spend more on defence after warning of the "real and potentially imminent" threat from China. "The United States 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. As part of Washington's longstanding defence ties with the Philippines, the U.S. 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 United States 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.
Reuters
5 days ago
- General
- Reuters
China accuses US's Hegseth of 'vilifying' remarks at security forum
BEIJING, June 1 (Reuters) - China has protested to the United States over "vilifying" remarks made by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the foreign ministry said on Sunday, while accusing it of deliberately ignoring calls for peace from regional nations. China 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 on Saturday 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. Hegseth had called on allies in the Indo-Pacific region to spend more on defence after warning of the "real and potentially imminent" threat from China. "The United States 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. As part of Washington's longstanding defence ties with the Philippines, the U.S. 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 United States 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.
