Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe warned that a direct war between the United States
and China “would bring disaster to both countries and the world,” but
warned China might have no choice if the US attempts to split them
permanently from Taiwan.
China considers Taiwan part of its territory, and historically this has
swung both ways. After the Chinese Civil War, both the Taiwan government
and the Beijing government claimed to be rightful rulers of all of
China. China has avoided forcibly reunifying with the island, but has
also warned Taiwan against presenting itself as an independent nation.
Chinese officials are warning that the US is threatening regional stability,
both with its actions toward Taiwan, and with continued US naval
actions near Chinese-claimed islands in the South China Sea. The US does
not recognize Chinese claims to those islands, and generally doesn’t
even consider them islands.
Despite mounting tensions both on strategic interests and the Trump
Administration’s trade war, Acting Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan
says the US won’t “tiptoe” around China on these issues, accusing China of threatening the international order.
China Says War With US Would Be a Disaster as Tensions Mount
China warns US threatening regional stability
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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