Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged China to refrain from further "destabilizing measures" on Taiwan during talks with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe on Tuesday, while emphasizing the need to keep lines of communication between the two countries open, he said the U. Department of Defense.
The meeting came in Cambodia, about a week after their countries' leaders held talks on the sidelines of a Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, as part of efforts to deal with growing competition between the world's two largest economies.
In Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island that Beijing regards as its own territory, Austin reiterated the importance of "peace and stability" across the Taiwan Strait and underscored his opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo.
Wei said during the meeting that the Taiwan issue is "at the core of China's core interests," according to the Chinese Defense Ministry.
The island is "the first red line that must not be crossed" between the two countries, the minister said, as President Xi Jinping said during talks with US President Joe Biden last week. In a statement, the ministry said Wei also said "no external force has the right to interfere.
It was the first visit to the island in 25 years by a powerful congressman. China responded to the trip by holding large-scale military exercises near Taiwan and suspending cooperation with Washington on various areas, including the weather.
Exchange and defense exchange. According to the Pentagon, Austin discussed with Wei the importance of "substantive dialogue to reduce strategic risk, improve crisis communications and improve operational security." demonstrated by Chinese military planes in the Indo-Pacific, as well as recent provocations by North Korea, the Pentagon said, apparently referring to Pyongyang's test firing of an ICBM last week.
Austin called on China to fully enforce existing US Security Council resolutions aimed at curbing North Korea's weapons programs, according to the Pentagon press release. Austin and Wei had previously held face-to-face meetings in Singapore in June on the sidelines of a key Asian security meeting.
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