The US is not seeking to split the region into blocs, but is focused on “maintaining stability,” the secretary of defense has said
Washington is not seeking to create an “Asian NATO” or stir up confrontation in the Indo-Pacific region, but rather is focused on maintaining stability, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday.
In a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s top security conference, Austin said, “the stakes are especially stark in the Taiwan Strait.” This comes amid multiple warnings from China against US military cooperation with Taiwan, which Beijing considers to be part of its territory.
Austin stressed that Washington’s policy regarding Taiwan remains unchanged – the US is committed to the One-China policy, “categorically opposes any unilateral changes in the status quo,” and therefore does not support the island’s independence.
While believing any “cross-strait differences must be resolved by peaceful means,” Austin stated that the US would continue to assist Taiwan “in maintaining a sufficient self-defense capability.”
Austin said that amid “growing coercion” from China and its “provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan,” the US remains focused on “maintaining peace, stability, and the status quo across the Taiwan Strait” which are apparently threatened by Beijing. Maintaining peace, Austin stressed, is not just in Washington’s interests but also “a matter of international concern.”
So let me be clear. We do not seek confrontation or conflict. And we do not seek a new Cold War, an Asian NATO, or a region split into hostile blocs.
On Friday, Austin held a meeting with his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, who told him Beijing would “fight at all costs” to prevent Taiwan from breaking away from China.
Just two days ago China “strongly condemned” Washington’s approval of a $120 million arms deal with Taiwan, and has called upon the parties to cancel the arrangement. Speaking at a regular briefing on Thursday, the Chinese Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said the arms sales “seriously violate the one-China principle,” undermine China’s sovereignty and security interests, and “severely harm China-US relations and peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait.”
Last month, US President Joe Biden declared that America would involve its military in any potential conflict between China and Taiwan, seemingly disregarding the US’ long-standing policy of ‘strategic ambiguity’ on the island and its relationship with Beijing. Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken walked back Biden’s statement and declared that the US stands by the One-China policy – which recognizes but does not endorse Beijing’s sovereignty over Taiwan, and neither guarantees nor rules out US military intervention should China threaten to assimilate Taiwan by force.
The island is a self-governing territory which has been de facto self-ruled since 1949, when the losing side in the Chinese Civil War fled and set up its own government in Taipei. Beijing views the Taiwanese authorities as separatists, insisting that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China.
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Russia protests “vicious” Israeli strike as Syria confirms suspension of airport operations
Syrian authorities on Friday said that the Damascus International Airport temporarily suspended operations due to “technical disruptions,” just hours after a massive airstrike blamed on Israel. An Israeli satellite company showed photos of severely damaged runways and claimed the airport has been “completely disabled.”
All flights have been suspended for at least 48 and some traffic is being rerouted through Aleppo, AFP reported citing an airport employee who wished to remain anonymous.
Russia confirmed that the airport has suffered “serious damage,” and that Syrian officials told Moscow repairing the damaged runways may take “significant time.”
While Israel has not officially commented on the attack, satellite company ImageSat International (ISI) published photos of the severely damaged runways and said that Friday’s strike “disabled the entire airport until repair.”
New imagery of #Damascus international Airport shows extensive damage to both military & civilian runways from this morning’s strikes.This comes after Syria’s Ministry of Transport halted flights to and from the airport. pic.twitter.com/ng5Ui6vyEn
Previous strikes on the airport in April and May damaged multiple connecting runways and shortened the main one, before it was taken out of commission entirely on Friday morning, ISI noted.
The missiles came from the direction of the Israel-occupied Golan Heights shortly after 4 am local time on Friday, and that most of them were shot down by air defenses, Syria media said. The attack “resulted in the injury of a civilian and the infliction of some material losses,” according to one official.
Israel has repeatedly targeted Syria with missiles, usually fired from the Golan or from Lebanese airspace, wary of air defense systems provided by Russia to Damascus. On the rare occasions that Israel has acknowledged the attacks, its government said it was exercising preemptive self-defense against the Iranian presence in Syria.
Tehran has offered military aid to Damascus in recent years against both Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) terrorists and other jihadist militants. Israel claims Iran is using civilian flights to Syria to smuggle weapons and missile parts to Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Syria has repeatedly protested “Israeli aggression,” to no avail. On Friday, Moscow sent another warning to Tel Aviv.
“Continued Israeli attacks on Syrian territory in violation of basic norms of international law are absolutely unacceptable,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Friday. “We strongly condemn Israel’s provocative attack on a critical object of Syrian civilian infrastructure.”
“We demand that the Israeli side stop this vicious practice,” Zakharova added, noting that such “irresponsible” actions endanger innocent lives and create serious risks for international air traffic.
