China will 'not hesitate to start war' over Taiwan, Beijing tells US

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida warns during the summit that 'Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow'

Beijing will "not hesitate to start a war" if Taiwan declares independence, China's defence minister warned his US counterpart Friday, the latest salvo between the superpowers over the island. 

The warning from Wei Fenghe came as he held his first face-to-face meeting with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue security summit in Singapore.

Wei warned Austin that "if anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese army will definitely not hesitate to start a war no matter the cost", defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian quoted the minister as saying during the meeting. 

He "stressed that Taiwan is China's Taiwan... Using Taiwan to contain China will never prevail", the ministry said. 

Tensions over Taiwan have escalated in particular due to increasing Chinese aircraft incursions into the island's air defence identification zone (ADIZ).

The White House has since insisted its policy of "strategic ambiguity" over whether or not it would intervene has not changed. 

With concerns mounting over China-Taiwan tensions, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida issued a stark warning at the summit: "Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow".

He did not mention China by name in his address, but repeatedly called for the "rules-based international order" to be upheld.

As well as on Taiwan, China and the United States have been locked in a range of other disputes. 

China has called for talks to end the war, but has stopped short of condemning Russia's actions and has repeatedly criticised American arms donations to Ukraine.

Beijing claims almost all of the resource-rich sea, through which trillions of dollars in shipping trade passes annually, with competing claims from Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam.

At a meeting with Southeast Asian defence ministers, he spoke about Washington's "strategy in maintaining an open, inclusive and rules-based regional security environment", according to a statement from the Singapore government. 

Austin will deliver a speech at the forum on Saturday, followed by Wei on Sunday. The summit runs from June 10 to 12 and is taking place for the first time since 2019 after twice being postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

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