Richard Marles, who is also deputy prime minister in the newly elected Labor government, warned that an arms race in the region could be triggered by feelings of “insecurity” triggered by Chinese actions. “China’s military build-up is now the largest and most ambitious we have seen of any country since the end of World War II,” Marls said. Chinese Navy sailors parade in formation during a parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in Tiananmen Square in 1949, on October 1, 2019 in Beijing, China. The Australian Defense Minister has warned that the mobilization of the Chinese army could lead to “an arms race”. Kevin Frayer / Getty Images “So it is crucial that China’s neighbors do not see this accumulation as a threat to them. Because without this reassurance, it is inevitable that countries will seek to upgrade their own military capabilities in response. It is insecurity that leads to a “arms race,” said the defense minister. Marles was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, which is considered Asia’s top defense conference. “China is not going anywhere and we should all live together and hope to prosper together,” Marls said. “China’s economic success is linked to that of ours and the region.” His comments came after Chinese Defense Minister Wei Feng said he had told US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that China “would not hesitate to start a cost-free war” if Taiwan declared its independence. All three Defense Ministers participated in the Shangri-La Dialogue. The United States, like most other nations, does not formally recognize democratic Taiwan as an independent nation. China is claiming Taiwan as part of its territory, but successive US governments have provided key support to the island, including arms supplies. Speaking in Singapore on Saturday, Minister Austin accused China of “steadily increasing provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan.” “That includes the PLA [People’s Liberation Army] “planes flying near Taiwan in record numbers in recent months – and on an almost daily basis,” Austin said. However, he made it clear that the United States “does not support Taiwan’s independence.” PLA is the official term for the Chinese military. Earlier in the day, Austin voiced further criticism of China’s recent actions, referring to the country as the People’s Republic of China. “In the East China Sea, the DRC’s expanding fishing fleet is fueling tensions with its neighbors. In the South China Sea, the DRC is using outposts on man-made islands full of advanced weapons to promote illegal maritime affairs,” he said. “We see PRC vessels looting the region, operating illegally in the territorial waters of other Indo-Pacific countries. And further west, we see Beijing continuing to harden its position along the border it shares with India,” Austin said. proceeded. The Secretary of Defense said that the US does not want a war in the region. “We are not seeking confrontation or conflict. And we are not seeking a new Cold War, an Asian NATO or an area divided into enemy blocs,” he said. Lt. Gen. Zhang Zhenzhong, deputy chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of China’s Central Military Commission, criticized Austin’s speech in a press conference on Saturday. “There have been many baseless allegations against China and we have expressed our strong dissatisfaction and strong opposition to these false allegations,” he said, accusing the United States of failing to live up to its promise not to support Taiwan’s independence. Zhang said the United States was “obviously inconsistent in its words and actions.”
