China on Sunday condemned U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, accusing Washington of fueling regional tensions with a Cold War mentality and urging it not to "play with fire."
In his Saturday address at the high-profile defense and security summit, Hegseth reportedly portrayed China as a threat multiple times and made critical comments on issues including Taiwan and the South China Sea.
"Hegseth deliberately ignored the calls for peace and development from countries in the region, and instead touted the Cold War mentality for bloc confrontation, vilified China with defamatory allegations, and falsely called China a 'threat,'" a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
The remarks, the spokesperson said, were filled with provocations aimed at sowing division. China deplores and firmly opposes them, and has lodged a strong protest with the U.S., the spokesperson added.
The statement accused the U.S. of being the world's true hegemonic power and the primary source of instability in the Asia-Pacific.
"To perpetuate its hegemony and advance the so-called 'Indo-Pacific strategy,' the U.S. has deployed offensive weaponry in the South China Sea and has kept stoking flames and creating tensions in the Asia-Pacific," the spokesperson said. "These actions," the spokesperson stressed, "are turning the region into a powder keg, causing deep concern among regional countries."
On the Taiwan question, the spokesperson reiterated that it is purely China's internal affair and that it brooks no foreign interference.
"The U.S. should never imagine it can use the Taiwan question as leverage against China. The U.S. must not play with fire on this issue," the spokesperson warned, urging Washington to fully abide by the one-China principle and the three China-U.S. joint communiqués, and to cease its support for Taiwan's separatist forces.
Regarding the South China Sea, the spokesperson stressed that there has never been an issue with freedom of navigation or overflight in the region.
China, the statement said, remains committed to handling differences properly through dialogue and consultation with relevant countries and will continue to safeguard its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with laws and regulations.
"It is the U.S. that is the primary factor undermining peace and stability in the South China Sea," the spokesperson said, calling on the U.S. to genuinely respect the efforts of regional countries to maintain peace and stability, stop deliberately undermining the regional environment of peace and stability, and refrain from hyping up confrontation or escalating tensions.
China warns U.S. not to 'play with fire' over Pentagon chief's remarks
China warns U.S. not to 'play with fire' over Pentagon chief's remarks
China warns U.S. not to 'play with fire' over Pentagon chief's remarks
