China demands end to US-Taiwan military ‘collusion’

BEIJING (AP) — China has demanded the U.S. cease military “collusion” with Taiwan during a virtual meeting between the joint chiefs of staff from the two countries whose relationship has grown increasingly fractious.

Gen. Li Zuocheng told Gen. Mark Milley on Thursday that China had “no room for compromise” on issues affecting its “core interests,” which include self-governing Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

“China demands the U.S. ... cease reversing history, cease U.S.-Taiwan military collusion and avoid impacting China-U.S. ties and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” Li said.

The Chinese military would “resolutely safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity,” he said. “If anyone creates a wanton provocation, they will be met with the firm counterattack from the Chinese people.”

Such language is fairly routine and Li was also quoted in a Defense Ministry news release saying China hoped to “further strengthen dialogue, handle risks, and promote cooperation, rather than deliberately creating confrontation, provoking incidents and becoming mutually exclusive.”

China routinely flies warplanes near Taiwan to advertise its threat to attack, and the island’s Defense Ministry said Chinese air force aircraft crossed the middle line of the Taiwan Strait dividing the two sides on Friday morning. It said measures were taken in response, including the scrambling of Taiwanese jets.

Such “provocative behavior ... has seriously damaged regional peace and stability,” the ministry said.

Soldiers take part in a military exercise in Hsinchu County, northern Taiwan, Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

Asked about the incident, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, “This exercise by China is directed at external interference and separatist Taiwan independence forces.”

The meeting between Li and Milley followed fiery comments by Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe at a regional security conference last month that was also attended by U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.

Wei accused the United States of trying to “hijack” the support of countries in the Asia-Pacific region to turn them against Beijing, saying Washington is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism.”

At the same meeting in Singapore, Austin said China was causing instability with its claim to Taiwan and its increased military activity in the area.

Two armed US-made F-16V fighters fly over at an air force base in Chiayi, southern Taiwan on January 5, 2022. (Photo by Sam Yeh / AFP) (Photo by SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images)

And in May, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called China the “most serious long-term challenge to the international order” for the United States, with its claims to Taiwan and efforts to dominate the strategic South China Sea, prompting an angry response from Beijing.

The U.S. and its allies have responded with what they term “freedom of navigation” patrols in the South China Sea, prompting angry responses from Beijing.

Despite not having formal diplomatic relations in deference to Beijing, Washington remains Taiwan’s chief ally and supplier of defense weapons. U.S. law requires the government to treat all threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” although it remains ambiguous on whether the U.S. military would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by China.

The latest round of heated rhetoric comes ahead of a meeting between Blinken and his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, on Saturday at a gathering of foreign ministers from the G-20 bloc of industrialized nations in Indonesia that is expected to be overshadowed by disagreements over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

China has refused to criticize Moscow’s aggression or even term it an invasion, while condemning Western sanctions against Russia and accusing the U.S. and NATO of provoking the conflict.

Along with Taiwan and the South China Sea, Washington and Beijing are also at odds over trade, human rights and China’s policies in Tibet and toward mainly Muslim Turkic minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang.

北京（美联社）——中国在中美两国参谋长联席会议上要求美国停止与台湾的军事“勾结”，两国关系日益紧张。

李作成将军周四告诉马克·米利将军，中国在影响其“核心利益”的问题上“没有妥协的余地”，这些“核心利益”包括自治的台湾，北京声称台湾是其领土的一部分，必要时将以武力吞并。

李克强说：“中方要求美方……停止颠倒历史，停止美台军事勾结，避免影响中美关系和台海稳定。”

他说，中国军队将“坚决捍卫国家主权和领土完整”。“任何肆意挑衅者，都必将遭到中国人民的坚决反击。”

这种措辞相当常规，李克强也在国防部新闻稿中表示，中国希望“进一步加强对话，管控风险，促进合作，而不是故意制造对抗、挑起事端、相互排斥”。

中国经常在台湾附近空域飞行战机，以示其攻击威胁。台湾国防部称，中国空军战机于周五上午越过台湾海峡中线。台湾方面表示，已采取相应措施予以回应，包括紧急升空战机。

该部表示，这种“挑衅行为……严重破坏了地区和平与稳定”。

2021年1月19日星期二，士兵在台湾北部新竹县参加军事演习。（美联社照片/蒋莹莹）

针对此事，中国外交部发言人表示：“中国的这次演习是针对外部干涉和台湾独立势力的。”

李克强与米利会晤之前，中国国防部长魏凤和上个月在一次地区安全会议上发表了措辞激烈的讲话，美国国防部长劳埃德·奥斯汀也出席了该会议。

魏凤和指责美国试图“劫持”亚太地区国家的支持，使它们反对北京，并表示华盛顿正试图“以多边主义为幌子”推进自身利益。

在新加坡举行的同一场会议上，奥斯汀表示，中国对台湾的主权声索以及在该地区日益频繁的军事活动，正在造成不稳定。

2022年1月5日，两架美制F-16V战斗机从台湾南部嘉义空军基地上空飞过。（图片来源：Sam Yeh / AFP）（图片来源：SAM YEH/AFP via Getty Images）

今年5月，美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯称中国是美国“对国际秩序最严重的长期挑战”，因为中国对台湾提出主权声索，并试图控制具有战略意义的南海，这引发了北京的愤怒回应。

美国及其盟友在南海开展了他们所谓的“航行自由”巡逻，引发了北京方面的愤怒回应。

尽管出于对北京的尊重，美台之间没有正式外交关系，但华盛顿仍然是台湾的主要盟友和国防武器供应国。美国法律要求政府将所有对台湾的威胁都视为“严重关切”事项，但对于如果台湾遭到中国攻击，美国军队是否会出兵保卫台湾，法律的规定仍然含糊不清。

在布林肯与中国外长王毅周六于印度尼西亚举行的二十国集团（G20）外长会议上会晤之前，双方爆发了最新一轮激烈的言辞交锋。预计此次会议将因俄罗斯入侵乌克兰问题上的分歧而黯然失色。

中国拒绝批评莫斯科的侵略行为，甚至拒绝将其称为入侵，同时谴责西方对俄罗斯的制裁，并指责美国和北约挑起冲突。

除了台湾和南海问题外，华盛顿和北京在贸易、人权以及中国在西藏和新疆西北部以穆斯林为主的突厥少数民族的政策上也存在分歧。