US Secretary of Defense: ‘US Security-dependent countries, China economic dependence not allowed, Taiwan invasion preparations’
US Secretary of Defense: ‘US Security-dependent countries, China economic dependence not allowed, Taiwan invasion preparations’
The US Secretary of Defense declared to the Pacific Rim countries that ‘US security, China economic cooperation not allowed’, and China made a public speech saying ‘preparation for Taiwan invasion’, and China announced in a statement that ‘Taiwan card for containing China not allowed’.
AP reported that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a speech in Singapore on the 31st that “it is dangerous to deal with both sides to seek US military support and Chinese economic support” and that “economic dependence on China will only deepen China’s malicious influence and complicate the defense decision-making space in a tense situation.”
The Chinese Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the 1st regarding Secretary Hegseth’s speech, saying, “We firmly oppose the ‘China threat theory’ as an exaggeration,” and “We should not dream of using the Taiwan issue as a card to contain China.” The Yomiuri reported on the 1st, “In response to Minister Hegseth’s criticism that China would bring about ‘disastrous results’ if it attempted to unify Taiwan by force, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it was pursuing dialogue and consultation with relevant countries regarding the South China Sea issue, and that ‘the United States is the biggest factor destroying peace and stability in the South China Sea. ’”
In his keynote speech at the Indo-Pacific Security Conference that day, Minister Hegseth stated, “The Chinese military is rehearsing for actual negotiations,” and “We will not whitewash it, and the threat posed by China is real. And it could be imminent.”
In particular, Minister Hegseth said, “China is training to invade Taiwan,” and “China is no longer just increasing its military power to occupy Taiwan, but is actively training every day.” In a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Summit, an Asian security conference hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, he told allies in the Indo-Pacific that they would not be left alone to face increasing military and economic pressure from China, and that “we all have to do our part.”
He urged Indo-Pacific nations to increase their defense spending to a level similar to the 5 percent of GDP that European countries are currently being pressured to contribute, the AP reported, adding that “China aims to have a military capable of taking Taiwan by force if necessary by 2027, a deadline that experts see as an ambitious goal rather than a hard deadline for war.”
The AP continued, “Hegseth said the U.S. will strengthen its overseas defenses to counter what the Pentagon sees as a rapidly evolving threat from China, particularly as it takes an aggressive stance toward Taiwan,” adding that “China has conducted numerous exercises to test what a blockade of the island, which China claims as its own territory and which the U.S. has pledged to defend, might look like.”
Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles welcomed Hegseth’s statement that “the Indo-Pacific is a strategic priority for the U.S.,” but added that “the reality is that there is no effective balance of power in the region without the U.S.,” adding that “we cannot leave it up to the U.S.”
In his speech, Marles said the Trump administration’s aggressive trade policies were counterproductive, adding that “the shock and disruption caused by higher tariffs have been costly and destabilizing.”
In response to Minister Hegses’ speech, senior EU diplomat Kaja Kallas disputed Hegses’s comments that “Europeans should focus their defense efforts on their own regions and leave more of the Indo-Pacific to the United States,” AP reported.
“With North Korea fighting for Russia and China supporting Moscow, security in Europe and Asia is ‘very closely’ linked,” the EU diplomat told AP.
Hegses’ speech focused on warning that there are risks in trying to play both sides of the aisle to seek U.S. military support and Chinese economic support, while also emphasizing the need for U.S. allies and partners to increase their own defense spending and preparedness, making a strong case for “collaborating with our allies,” saying the U.S. has no interest in going it alone.
“Ultimately, a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage,” he said. “China envies what we have together and sees what we can do together in defense, but it is up to all of us to invest and live up to that potential.” The AP said, “In the Indo-Pacific countries caught in the middle have been trying to balance their relationship with the US and China for the past several years,” and “China is a major trading partner for many countries, but they also fear it as a regional bully because of its increasingly aggressive claims on natural resources such as important fisheries.”
At a campaign rally in Daegu on the 13th, presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung said, “We should always focus on national interests, the ROK-US alliance as a ROK-US alliance, ROK-US-Japan cooperation as cooperation, and maintain good relations with China and Russia as well as the US, and sell goods to them.”
He added, “I said, ‘thank you.’ We should say ‘thank you.’ We should say ‘thank you.’ We should say ‘thank you.’ We should say ‘thank you.’ We should say ‘thank you.’ We should get along well with other countries. What does it have to do with us whether Taiwan and China fight? Did I say something wrong?” He made a remark that ‘allows war between China and Taiwan.’
In a Time interview (15th) released on the 29th, this candidate answered a reporter's question, "If China invades Taiwan, will you help Taiwan?" by saying, "I will think about the answer when aliens try to invade Earth."
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