What did China's defense minister say at the Shangri-La Dialogue?

Bộ trưởng quốc phòng Trung Quốc nói gì tại Đối thoại Shangri-La? - Ảnh 1. — Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 4.

Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) in Singapore on June 4, Chinese Senior Lieutenant General Li Shangfu said that a Cold War mentality is emerging in the Asia-Pacific, but Beijing seeks dialogue rather than confrontation. Without naming any country, the head of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense accused “some countries” of preferring to impose their own rules on others under the “rules-based international order,” according to the South China Morning Post ( SCMP ).

“Their so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are, and who made these rules,” Mr. Lee said in a speech to military generals and defense and diplomatic officials gathered at the SLD, Asia's premier security forum held annually in Singapore.

“They practice exceptionalism, double standards and only serve the interests and follow the rules of a small number of countries,” SCMP quoted the Chinese general as saying.

This was Mr. Li's first public speech to an international audience since he became China's defense minister in March. Before the event in Singapore, he became the center of attention when he refused to meet his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the SLD at the request of the Pentagon.

In his speech at the SLD, Minister Li also promoted Beijing’s new Global Security Initiative (GSI). Announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping in April last year, the GSI is a set of foreign policy principles and guidelines that some observers see as an attempt to build a counterweight to the US-led international order.

"We firmly oppose imposing one country's will on another, putting one's own interests above those of others, and pursuing one's own security at the expense of others," Mr. Lee said, accusing some countries of "willfully interfering in the internal affairs of others."

But the general was more subdued when talking about China-US bilateral relations, saying that relations between the two countries in the past few years have fallen to a "record low" since 1979. According to Mr. Li, a serious conflict or confrontation between China and the US would be an "unbearable" disaster for the world.

China's defense minister also said that the country is willing to talk to the US and promote dialogue between the two militaries, but this must be based on mutual respect. "That is a very basic principle," he said.

Earlier on June 3, also at the SLD, Mr. Austin said that China lacked goodwill for dialogue when it refused to hold talks between the two defense ministers in Singapore. According to the Pentagon leader, he was deeply concerned about China's unwillingness to participate in military crisis management efforts, and also believed that negotiations were the key to avoiding conflict.

A general in the Chinese delegation to the SLD told the SCMP that China rejected the US proposal to meet mainly because of Washington’s sanctions on Mr. Li since 2018. Beijing also said the US had failed to create an atmosphere conducive to dialogue.

In another development, the US State Department announced on June 3 that Daniel Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, will visit China and New Zealand next week. The trip comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has indefinitely canceled his planned visit to Beijing, after the two sides broke out in a dispute over the "spy balloon" incident.

Also at the SLD on June 3, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius called on Beijing to stop recruiting German military pilots to train Chinese forces, according to Reuters. He also said that during the meeting between the two sides, the Chinese defense minister did not deny this but said the problem was not serious.

German newspaper Spiegel reported on June 2 that former German fighter pilots have been training Chinese military pilots for years. According to the article, German security officials believe that it is likely that German pilots have passed on specialized military knowledge to the Chinese side, such as covert operations tactics of German and NATO forces.

Chinese officials did not immediately comment on the information from Germany.

Source link