China’s military will attack “without any hesitation” any nation that dares to separate it from Taiwan, Chinese state councilor and defense minister General Li Shangfu has said.
Li made the comments in a speech on “China’s New Security Initiative” at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore over the weekend, during which he stressed that a “sound security and development environment” is the key to sustained prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
“We in China believe that the key for countries to live in harmony is mutual respect and treating each other as equals,” Li, a general of the People’s Liberation Army, said in the speech.
“We are strongly opposed to imposing one’s own will on others, placing one’s own interests above those of others, and pursuing one’s own security at the expense of others,” he said, adding that “some country”—appearing to refer to the United States—had interfered in the internal affairs of other nations and “frequently resorted to unilateral sanctions and coercion with force.”
His comments came amid strained relations between the United States and China over the latter’s increasingly aggressive actions toward Taiwan.
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