It is from voltage between To use and Chinabetween conflicting warnings about the Russian war in Ukraine and the “Military Provocations” Chinese against it Taiwan, where a local network falsely broadcast the warning of an attack in Beijing, sparking panic among the population. A few hours before the reception at the White House along with the military leaders, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin He called the Chinese defense minister Wei Feng For the first time since the beginning of the Biden administration, a communications blockade has been broken, which Washington has seen with growing concern over the BeijingChina alliance To fly on the background of war in Ukraine.
For over a year, the secretary of defense had tried to speak to the general Xu Qiliangthe highestranking officer in the Communist Party structure, as vicepresident of the Central Military Commission, the highest organ of the armed forces headed by the President Xi Jinping. In the past, this was an established practice, but this time Beijing has insisted on respecting it protocol and thus for a contact between peers.
The US goal was to resume dialogue and reiterated the message of Joe Biden in the March 18 video call to Xi, in which the US President threatened severe consequences if Beijing provided military aid or economically in Moscow in the conflict in Ukraine. Austin also recalled the importance of managing the strategic competition USChina, also in the areas of nuclear, space and cyber, improve the communication channels in crises. Finally, the US Secretary of Defense reiterated Washington’s concerns about Beijing’s military provocations against Taiwan and Beijing’s activities in the Southeast China Sea. But the phone call, which lasted 45 minutes, became one stormy job interview High tension, according to the Beijing report.
China urged the United States “not to use the Ukrainian question to defame and slander.” exert pressure on Beijing by threats”, and rejects any juxtaposition between Kyiv and Taiwan, the island that represents the true red line of the gods bilateral relations. Beijing considers it part “inalienable” of its territory, if necessary by force. “It’s an inseparable part of China, a fact and a status quo that nobody can change” and “if the issue isn’t handled properly, it will have one.” destabilizing effect on relations between the two countries,” Wei warned.
The warning comes after Beijing pledged to increase the number “Strategic Coordination” with Moscow and thus confirms the sealed “friendship without borders”. Wladimir Putin and Xi at the Chinese Winter Games and signed a security agreement with the Solomon Islandspossible prelude to a Dragon military base in the archipelago northwest of Australia: a deal that seems to be a response Aukus (the USUKAustralia Pacific NATO to contain China) and which could threaten the balance of power in a region crucial for maritime transport.