SINGAPORE — Beijing will “not hesitate to start a war” if Taiwan declares independence, China’s defense minister warned his US counterpart Friday, the latest salvo between the superpowers over the island. The Chinese minister vowed that Beijing would “smash to smithereens any ‘Taiwan independence’ plot and resolutely uphold the unification of the motherland”, according to the Chinese defence ministry. He “stressed that Taiwan is China’s Taiwan… Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail”, the ministry said. As well as on Taiwan, China and the United States have been locked in a range of other disputes. They have been at loggerheads over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with Washington accusing Beijing of providing tacit support for Moscow.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 11, 2022 01:24 UTC