America doesn’t see an imminent risk of China invading Taiwan however is able to defend the self-ruled island, a senior U.S. official mentioned on Thursday in Singapore.
Tensions have simmered between the 2 main powers as China turns into extra assertive in its territorial claims over Taiwan and within the South China Sea, whereas the US shores up alliances throughout the Asia-Pacific area to counter Beijing’s affect.
“I do not definitely see any imminent risk. Hopefully that’s one thing that will by no means materialise,” U.S. Air Drive Secretary Frank Kendall mentioned on the sidelines of a defence expertise convention in Singapore.
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“Anybody who contemplates an act of aggression that will contain the US is making a really critical mistake,” he mentioned.
Beijing reacted with fury final 12 months when former U.S. Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, launching live-fire navy drills across the island. Beijing sees Taiwan as an inalienable a part of China.
Kendall mentioned China has finished “numerous issues which might be pretty aggressive”, together with “militarising” the South China Sea, the strategic commerce hall wherein a number of international locations have overlapping claims.
China claims a lot of the waterway as its territory and has mentioned the US is the largest driver of militarisation within the area.
The Chinese language navy mentioned on Thursday it monitored and drove away a U.S. destroyer that had illegally entered waters across the Paracel Islands within the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy mentioned China’s assertion was inaccurate.
Kendall additionally pointed to the presence of a suspected Chinese language surveillance balloon in U.S. airspace in February as an “act of aggression” however mentioned it was “not a critical navy risk” and unlikely to occur once more.
Beijing denied the balloon was a authorities spy craft.
Kendall known as on the 2 international locations to work collectively, saying “we ought to be working to extend our cooperation, not lowering (it)”.