US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe on Wednesday, the first call between the two officials since the beginning of President Joe Biden’s administration, in some time. more than a year.
Relations between China and the United States have been strained, with the world’s two largest economies at odds over everything from Taiwan and China’s human rights record to its military activity in the South China Sea.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the two talked about relations between the countries and “regional security issues and Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.”
Despite the tensions and heated rhetoric, US military officials have long sought to have open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts in order to mitigate potential outbreaks or deal with any accidents.
Austin, despite several attempts, was unable to talk to Chinese military leaders until Wednesday.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the call, which lasted about 45 minutes, did not make much progress, but Austin reiterated the importance of Beijing not arming Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
A statement from Beijing said Wei told Austin that Taiwan was part of China and no one could change that.
“If the Taiwan issue were not dealt with properly, it would have a detrimental impact on Sino-US relations,” Wei added, according to a statement published by the Defense Ministry.
The United States has no formal relationship with self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own but is its most important international sponsor and arms supplier.
Taiwan was encouraged by the US support offered by the Biden administration, which has repeatedly spoken of its “solid” commitment to the democratically governed island.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has also put Taipei on alert for possible moves by Beijing to use the crisis in Ukraine to make a move on the island.
The government, however, has not reported any signs that China is about to invade.
Source: CNN Brasil
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