Latest news with #PLANationalDefenceUniversity
The Herald Scotland
a day ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
China blasts Pete Hegseth over 'vilifying' remarks
"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. More: Trump and China's Xi Jinping to speak soon, iron out trade fight, White House officials say "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," it added in the statement. China's defence ministry also weighed in, saying the U.S. is "accustomed to using" the forum to "stoke disputes, sow discord and seek selfish interests." "China's armed forces will work with other countries in the region to oppose hegemonism harming the Asia-Pacific region," ministry spokesperson Zhang Xiaogang said in a statement posted on the ministry's WeChat account. Hegseth had urged allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including key security partner 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 ten billion Australian dollars (US $6 billion) to defence. More: Trump accuses China of 'totally' violating preliminary trade deal "What we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy," he told reporters on Sunday, a transcript of his remarks showed. 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. China's delegation at the forum said "external intervention" was the biggest risk for stability in the South China Sea, saying the country had shown "goodwill and restraint" through talks on the issue. "Some foreign powers have sent warplanes and warships to the South China Sea for so-called 'freedom of navigation,'" the state-backed Global Times newspaper cited Senior Colonel Zhang Chi from the PLA National Defence University as saying. Such actions infringed China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, he added. More: Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic The United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines have conducted joint maritime operations in the busy waterway. China claims nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal ruled Beijing's expansive claim had no basis in international law, however. China's foreign ministry also told the United States not to "play with fire" on the question of Taiwan. Any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan "would result in devastating consequences", Hegseth said in his speech to Asia's premier forum for defense leaders, military officials and diplomats. 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.
The Star
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Star
Beijing rejects US threat claims
US stance: At the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Hegseth called on Indo-Pacific allies, including Australia, to increase defence spending as he warned of a 'real and potentially imminent' threat posed by China. — Reuters The government has protested to the United States against 'vilifying' remarks made by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, the foreign ministry said, 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 yesterday. '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,' it added in the statement. Hegseth had urged allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including key security partner 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$10bil (RM27.3bil) to defence. 'What we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy,' Albanese told reporters yesterday, a transcript of his remarks showed. As part of Washington's long-standing 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's delegation at the forum said 'external intervention' was the biggest risk for stability in the South China Sea, saying the country had shown 'goodwill and restraint' through talks on the issue. 'Some foreign powers have sent warplanes and warships to the South China Sea for so-called 'freedom of navigation',' the state-backed Global Times newspaper cited Senior Col Zhang Chi from the PLA National Defence University as saying. Such actions infringed China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, he added. The United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines have conducted joint maritime operations in the busy waterway. — Reuters
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
China accuses US's Hegseth of ‘vilifying' remarks at security forum
BEIJING: China has protested to the United States against '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. '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,' it added in the statement. Hegseth had urged allies in the Indo-Pacific region, including key security partner 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 ($6 billion) to defence. 'What we'll do is we'll determine our defence policy,' he told reporters on Sunday, a transcript of his remarks showed. 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. China's delegation at the forum said 'external intervention' was the biggest risk for stability in the South China Sea, saying the country had shown 'goodwill and restraint' through talks on the issue. 'Some foreign powers have sent warplanes and warships to the South China Sea for so-called 'freedom of navigation,'' the state-backed Global Times newspaper cited Senior Colonel Zhang Chi from the PLA National Defence University as saying. Such actions infringed China's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, he added. The United States, Australia, Japan and the Philippines have conducted joint maritime operations in the busy waterway. China claims nearly all the South China Sea, including parts of the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. In 2016, an international arbitration tribunal ruled Beijing's expansive claim had no basis in international law, however. China's foreign ministry also told the United States not to 'play with fire' on the question of Taiwan. Any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan 'would result in devastating consequences', Hegseth said in his speech to Asia's premier forum for defence leaders, military officials and diplomats. 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. ($1=1.5550 Australian dollars)
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
China probes for key target weak spots with 'paralysing' Taiwan drills
China's military drills around Taiwan this week aim to send a clear message to the island's leadership, analysts say -- in the event of war, Beijing can cut them off from the outside world and grind them into submission. And while previous drills have sought to test Taipei's response times to Chinese incursion, Beijing says this week's exercises are focused on its ability to strike key targets such as ports and energy facilities on the island. "Taiwan is vulnerable from an energy point of view and China is playing up that vulnerability," Dylan Loh at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University told AFP. The air and sea around the self-ruled island have swarmed with Chinese jets and warships in what Beijing has dubbed its "Strait Thunder" exercises -- punishment, it said, for the separatist designs of Taiwan's "parasite" leader Lai Ching-te. The drills are located in the middle and southern parts of the Taiwan strait -- a vital artery for global shipping. The island also imports nearly all of its energy supply and relies heavily on food imports, meaning in the event of a war, a blockade could paralyse the island -- a fact Beijing is keen to press. "Taiwan's depth is shallow and has no buffer zone. Taiwan is also short of resources," Major General Meng Xiangqing, professor at the PLA National Defence University, told state broadcaster CCTV. "If Taiwan loses its sea supply lines, then the island's resources will quickly be depleted, social order will fall into chaos, and people's livelihoods will be affected," he said. "In the end, it will be the regular people of the island who suffer." - 'Blockade' - One Taipei-based analyst said Beijing's drills were shifting focus, from practising ways to prevent foreign forces coming to Taiwan's aid in the event of a war, to asserting full control over the waters around the island. "The containment and control drills are designed to test the ability to restrict supply routes to Taiwan and deter foreign commercial vessels from docking," said Su Tzu-yun, a military expert at Taipei's Institute for National Defense and Security Research. "The message to international shipping is that all destinations are open -- as long as they're not Taiwan," he added. While Tuesday's exercises were focused on offensive operations against the island, Lin Ying-yu, a military expert and assistant professor at Tamkang University, said Wednesday's "centre on practising a blockade of Taiwan". Such a tactic echoes techniques used in the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has since February 2022 also launched thousands of strikes against energy infrastructure -- to debilitating effect. A graphic shared by the military made the objective clear: declaring "paralysing strikes" were being prepared and showing missiles raining down on the island's southern port city of Kaohsiung. Taiwan's leaders, it warned, were "heading for a dead end". Another touted the army's skills in "controlling energy channels, cutting off supply arteries," -- and showed graphics of explosions on targets on the island's east, west and south. - 'Deadly surprise attack' - The drills are driven by growing fears in Beijing that its long-awaited unification with Taipei is further away than ever. Bonny Lin, Director of the China Power Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies in Washington, told AFP there was "an assessment in Beijing that China needs to do more to step up the process for unification with Taiwan". That included, she said, "punishing Taiwan for any perceived provocative activities and more firmly countering potential foreign intervention to assist Taiwan". Beijing is also seeking to highlight just how unpredictable it can be in attacking the island. "The opponent won't know which card we will play, including when we'll play it," Fu Zhengnan, an expert at the Chinese military's Academy of Military Science, told CCTV. "The PLA is becoming more and more like an unpredictable magician," he said. This week's drills come just days after US defence chief Pete Hegseth vowed the United States would ensure "deterrence" across the Taiwan Strait in the face of China's "aggressive and coercive" actions. Wen-Ti Sung, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global China Hub, said "Straight Thunder" was testing that claim. "China wants to impose stress test after stress test and create an opportunity where the Trump administration will have to respond," he said. sam-oho/je/fox
