The threat of “full-scale conflict”
Calls to China from Pentagon leaders go unanswered amid the Taiwan crisis. informs Policy. Officials and experts interviewed by the publication believe Beijing’s silence is a “dangerous step”.
“This week, senior Chinese military officials have not returned multiple calls from their American counterparts as a crisis erupted in the Pacific region over the Taiwan visit of House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi,” the article said.
The authors noted that “hiding” from China’s Defense Minister Lloyd Austin and Chief of Staff General Mark Milley “continues to launch missiles and deploy warships and aircraft in an unprecedented military exercise around Taiwan.” Officials and experts told Politico that China’s silence was “a short-sighted and reckless move that increases the risk of escalating an already tense situation.”
“U.S. military leaders are willing to maintain open lines of communication, even with potential enemies like China, to prevent accidents and other miscalculations that could escalate into a full-blown conflict,” the article states.
“Avoid the Events”
The Pentagon said Millie’s last meeting with her Chinese counterpart, Chief of the Joint Staff, General Li Zuocheng, took place on July 7. Over the video, they talked about “the need to keep the lines of communication open, as well as reduce the risk of escalation.” Austin personally met with Chinese Defense Minister General Wei Fenghe in Singapore in June.
“The Secretary of State has repeatedly stressed the importance of completely open lines of communication with Chinese defense officials so that we can avoid any miscalculations,” Todd Bressail, acting Pentagon spokesman, told the editors in an email.
The authors of the article recalled that the day before, China announced that it was ending some official dialogues and maritime security negotiations with top US military commanders, including regional ones. But Austin and Millie said they’re still open to chat.
White House spokesman John Kirby said the PRC announcement “doesn’t completely rule out the possibility of high-level military communications”, but it “raises the risk of tension”.
Despite protests from Beijing, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which China considers her territory, in early August. In response, China launched large-scale military exercises around the island.
Politico states that the US, which does not officially recognize Taiwan’s independence but supplies the island with weapons, wants to avoid escalating tensions. The US also wants to prevent a repeat of the situation in 2001, when an EP-3 electronic reconnaissance aircraft belonging to the US Navy and a Chinese J-8 fighter jet collided, causing an international scandal.
Experts interviewed by the publication now believe that the risk of such an event is “increasing”.
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Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a press conference during his visit to the ASEAN-Cambodia summit that China’s response to Pelosi’s visit was “legitimate and justified” and that military exercises near Taiwan were “transparent and professional”.
Commenting on the information that the US has increased its military presence in the region, the diplomat said he hoped “all parties will remain on high alert”.
“The usual US method is to first create problems and then use them to achieve their goals, but this approach will not work in China. “We want to warn the United States not to act recklessly and make the crisis worse,” he said.
He also said, “If the principle of non-interference in their internal affairs is ignored and discarded, the world will return to the law of the jungle, and the United States will be more rude to other countries than a stronger position, and force them around, especially a large number of small and medium-sized countries.”
Wang Yi is convinced that Washington is violating the status quo in the Taiwan Strait.