US wants to maintain military capabilities to defend Taiwan
Lloyd Austin warns China against 'provocative' military activity at Asian Defense Forum
Ibrahim Al-TarikMay 8, 2025
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin accused China of stepping up its coercive measures against Taiwan, stressing that Washington will maintain its military capabilities to resist any force that threatens the country.
Speaking at the IISS Shangri-La Dialogue Defense Forum in Singapore, Austin said China is exhibiting provocative behavior across the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from dangerous naval and air maneuvers to increasingly assertive military activity around Taiwan .
"We have observed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan," Austin said Saturday. "That includes the PLA's planes, which have flown near Taiwan in record numbers in recent months.
Speaking to an audience that included Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe, Austin said there was an "alarming increase" of Uncertain airstrikes and confrontations at sea by Chinese military ships and planes
Austin referred to recent incidents in which Chinese Air Force fighter jets have conducted "dangerous interceptions" against US allied planes in the South China Sea and East China Sea - referring to AUSTRALIA
AND CANADA A few weeks after President Joe Biden declared in Tokyo that the US would intervene militarily to defend Taiwan against any Chinese attack, Austin said Washington will comply with the Taiwan Relations Act by ensuring that Taiwan maintains adequate defensive capability.
" And it means that we maintain our own ability to resist any use of force or other forms of coercion that would endanger the security or the social or economic system of the Taiwanese people," he added.
Austin stressed that US policy toward Taiwan has not changed and that the government remains opposed to any unilateral change in the status quo in the Taiwan Straits -- be it by Taipei or Beijing.
His comments came at a time when US officials are increasingly concerned about Chinese threats to Taiwan, which claims China's sovereignty.
Austin used his speech to highlight the Biden administration's efforts to increase cooperation with allies, including the Quad -- a security group that includes the US, Japan, Australia and India -- and the Aukus Security Pact, which the US, the United Kingdom and Australia closed last year.
Paul Haenle, director of think tank Carnegie China, said Austin "got the balance right" in his speech. The US Secretary of Defense has said that US policy towards Taiwan has not changed, while stressing that the most important components of this policy are to help Taiwan maintain sufficient self-defense capability and to maintain a robust US capacity to defend itself to oppose any Chinese use of force.
Austin spoke a day after his meeting with Wei, the first high-level meeting between the military officials since Biden took office.
Despite the positive portrayal of the meeting between the two defense ministers, China responded with a sharp riposte to Austin's speech.
"The US has already devastated Europe and the Middle East, does it now want to devastate Asia too? There is no way we will allow that," said Lt. Gen. Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of the senior staff department of China's Central Military Commission.
In what the Chinese delegation described as Beijing's official response to Austin, Zhang dismissed the US Secretary of Defense's assurances that Washington was not seeking a new Cold War, an Asian NATO, or a region divided into hostile blocs.
"Their words don't match their actions," Zhang said. "The real intention of the US is to maintain its hegemonic system. They are trying to create small circles by including some countries." He added that the US Indo-Pacific strategy is based on geopolitical rivalry and bloc competition.
Citing the Global Security Initiative, a vague security concept proposed by President Xi Jinping in April, Zhang said China "continues to contribute strongly to regional peace and strongly supports it" and provides public goods - unlike the US, which he called the "biggest source of instability" and a "manipulator in the background".
Zhang also warned Washington against further support for Taiwan. The US has "seriously undermined and undermined" its promise to uphold the one-China policy, he said, citing Washington's approval of the sale of $120 million worth of warship spares to Taipei on Wednesday.
The steps taken by the US over the past year are a reminder that Taiwan is the issue with the greatest potential to draw geopolitical rivals into conflict, Zhang said, adding, "It is extremely dangerous."
Wei is scheduled to speak at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday morning.
Maj. Gen. Guo Ruobing, commander of the National Security College at the National Defense University, sharply dismissed Austin's criticism of China's interception of Australian and Canadian military aircraft. "They are the ones who disturb stability," he said, adding that "the US always says one thing but does the other." Washington has repeatedly dismissed such Chinese criticism, saying its planes fly in international airspace.
Austin cited three areas where the US is working more closely with its allies, including sharing research and development to ensure they have the right capabilities to deter aggression and stepping up exercises and training.
He added that the US Coast Guard is increasing its presence in the Indo-Pacific, illustrated by the fact that Admiral Linda Fagan has been the first Coast Guard commander to participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue.
