{"id":122189,"date":"2023-12-16T11:39:54","date_gmt":"2023-12-16T11:39:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/?p=122189"},"modified":"2023-12-16T11:39:54","modified_gmt":"2023-12-16T11:39:54","slug":"us-issues-stern-warning-to-china-as-biden-gives-taiwan-237m-defence-package","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leviolonrouge.com\/world-news\/us-issues-stern-warning-to-china-as-biden-gives-taiwan-237m-defence-package\/","title":{"rendered":"US issues stern warning to China as Biden gives Taiwan \u00a3237m defence package"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taiwan begins testing its first domestically-made submarine<\/h3>\n

The US hit China with a dire warning ahead of the upcoming Taiwanese election as it demanded “responsible behaviour” from Beijing.<\/p>\n

The January 13 vote is being closely monitored in Washington DC as it could determine Taiwan’s future relationship with the People’s Republic of China.<\/p>\n

President Xi Jinping has repeatedly signalled he views the island as part of the PRC and would be ready to fight to reclaim the territory.<\/p>\n

In a stern message, US Ambassador to China, Nicholas Burns, said: “Our strong expectation and hope is that those elections be free of intimidation, or coercion, or interference from all sides.”<\/p>\n

Burns noted Beijing and Washington are “in a competitive relationship” in both economic and military terms \u2013 suggesting that China’s wishes to “become the strongest power in the Indo-Pacific,” has contributed to heightening the tensions.<\/p>\n

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Taipei has long been a close ally to the US thanks to the pivotal role its semiconductor industry plays in US manufacturing.<\/p>\n

And the Taiwan Strait is a crucial shipping route for trade from Asia into Europe and Africa, where China has been expanding its influence in recent decades.<\/p>\n

As tensions between China and the US continue to rocket, Congress approved a $300 million sale of equipment to Taipei to help maintain its tactical information system and strengthen its defences.<\/p>\n

Yet, Burns insisted the two countries need to work together on issues such as climate change, narcotics, global health and food security.<\/p>\n

He added: “No person in their right mind should want this relationship to end up in conflict or in war.<\/p>\n

“So we’re going to develop a relationship where we can compete, but, as the president says, to compete responsibly, drive down the probability of a conflict and bring our people together in a balanced relationship is one way to do that.”<\/p>\n

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