China warns US of its readiness to fight for Taiwan

Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe has said that all attempts to separate Taiwan from China are doomed to failure.

The Chinese army is ready for decisive action against such attempts, Fenghe made the statement at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference in Singapore, according to Interfax.

"If anyone dares to try to separate Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely fight against it to the end, no matter the cost," Chinese media quoted the minister as saying during his speech at the conference.

Fenghe emphasized that "Taiwan is Chinese Taiwan, and reunification of the homeland is an absolute must".

He added that the desire to achieve the independence of the island is "dead-end, nonsense", doomed to failure.

Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of China's People’s Liberation Army (PLA), Lieutenant General Zhang Zhenzhong, at a briefing, spoke out against the statements of US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who accused China during the conference of "militarising" the South China Sea.

Zhenzhong said that the term "militarisation of the South China Sea" is more suitable for the US since it regularly sends warships and aircraft to invade the adjacent waters and airspace of the Chinese islands, and conducts reconnaissance and targeted military exercises in the area.

"(...) It is fair to say that the United States is the biggest force contributing to the militarization of the South China Sea," Zhenzhong said.

"It is the United States that is the biggest source of instability in the international order, the backroom manipulator of global upheaval, and a dangerous threat to regional peace and stability," he added.