The defense ministers of the US and China met yesterday (Tuesday) as part of the attempts to calm the tensions between the two powers, while the vice president of the US Kamala Harris visited the Philippines and clarified that her country is obliged to defend against any military attack.
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A week after the meeting of Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Penghe met yesterday, on the sidelines of a convention of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia, and it was reported that the two discussed the security relations between the countries and issues of international security, including the war in Ukraine.
According to the Pentagon, Austin “stressed the need to responsibly manage competition and keep lines of communication open.” He referred to the need to “reduce strategic risk, improve crisis communication and strengthen operational safety” and warned that the “dangerous behavior” of the Chinese Air Force “increases the risk of an accident”.
On the other hand, the Chinese general reiterated the position of the regime in Beijing that the Taiwan issue is a “red line” for his country: “Taiwan’s solution is a matter for the Chinese people and no outside force has the right to interfere.” He demanded that Washington respect Chinese interests and adopt “sensible” policies that would help improve relations. At the same time, US Vice President Kamala Harris ended her visit to the Philippines yesterday, which was intended to improve relations between the two countries after the tensions during the reign of the previous president Rodrigo Duterte, and to send a message to China. Harris clarified that “any military attack on the armed forces of the Philippines, on Public cruises or aircraft in the Pacific Ocean region will result in the activation of American obligations under the mutual defense treaty with the Philippines.”
Yesterday, Harris visited the island of Palawan, near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims to own. She met with the local coast guard and stated that “we must maintain principles such as respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, legal trade without interference and freedom of navigation and flight over the South China Sea.”
In Beijing they did not hide their displeasure with Harris’s visit. “She is focused on fanning the flames of the South China Sea issue,” said the editorial of the “Global Times”, one of the main mouthpieces of the regime in Beijing.