China will “not hesitate to start a war” and “smash to smithereens” any Taiwan independence efforts, its defence minister warned his US counterpart in the pair’s first face-to-face talks.
“If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost,” Defence Minister Wei Fenghe said during a meeting with Lloyd Austin on Friday.
“The PLA [People’s Liberation Army] would have no choice but to fight … and crush any attempt of Taiwan independence, safeguarding national sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Despite the combative words, Wei said the talks with Austin “went smoothly”.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore for nearly an hour, double the time initially allotted.
The Chinese minister also pledged that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any Taiwan independence plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland”, according to the Chinese defence ministry.
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Article URL : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/10/china-tells-us-it-will-not-hesitate-to-start-war-over-taiwan