As the U.S. and Chinese defence bosses spoke in Beijing, many in the room realised one thing – the two are far from ready to talk.

 
A thinly veiled criticism of the United States was delivered by Chinese Defence Minister General Li Shangfu.

In his first public statement to an international audience since becoming defence minister in March, Li highlighted China’s Global Security Initiative, a set of foreign policy principles and directions in line with Beijing’s style of diplomacy, which was announced in April last year by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“It practises exceptionalism and double standards and only serves the interests and follows the rules of a small number of countries,” he told Asia’s biggest defence conference.

Among them are opposition to unilateral sanctions and economic development as a means of stemming instability and conflict.

“Its so-called rules-based international order never tells you what the rules are, and who made these rules,” Li said in a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, without naming the US or its partners.

#featured #china #li shangfu #south china sea #taiwan

The provocation of a Chinese warship sailing 2000ft off the bow of a U.S. warship near Taiwan has escalated tensions.

 
As the U.S. and Chinese military chiefs stood in the same room in Singapore, a dangerous manoeuvre was taking place in the South China Sea.

A Chinese naval vessel sailed directly in front of a U.S. warship, in a supposed breach of international law.

The U-S describing this maneuver as “unsafe” but China disagrees. China claims the democratic island of Taiwan as part of its own territory.

Beijing says the strait is part of its exclusive economic zone but the U-S regularly sail through and flies over the area.

The incident in the Taiwan Straits comes after the U-S Defence Secretary and his Chinese counterpart were together in Singapore.

The pair weren’t meeting but they were in the room for a defence conference.

Li Shangfu is China’s Defence Minister who’s suggesting the U-S and its allies are creating danger in the region.

He’s asking one question, “what’s the point of going there?”

And he followed on with the saying “In China we always say: ‘Mind your own business.’”

David Zhang, who’s the host of China Insider, says China is now playing a more dangerous game, akin to a Cold War mentality. #china #south china sea #taiwan #united states #featured

 
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