IN the latest response to the absence of a meeting between Chinese and United States defense ministers on the sidelines of the 11th Asean Defense Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM-Plus), Wu Qian, a spokesman for China's Ministry of National Defense, said the responsibility lies entirely with the US side. Wu said the US cannot undermine China's core interests by selling arms to Taiwan on the one hand while pretending that nothing happened and seeking to engage in military exchanges with China on the other. He urged the US to immediately correct its mistakes, earnestly respect China's core interests, and create favorable conditions for high-level military exchanges between the two sides. Previously, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin complained about the Chinese side's refusal to meet with his counterpart, expressing 'regret' and saying 'it was unfortunate' and 'a setback for the whole region.'

The US perhaps knows better than anyone else why the Chinese side 'refused to meet with its official.' Just last month, the US Department of Defense approved $2 billion in arms sales to Taiwan. This, the largest arms sale to the island under President Joe Biden's administration, includes weapons such as advanced surface-to-air missile defense systems and radar systems. Many US media outlets have noted that the missile defense system 'has been battle-tested in Ukraine' — what that means is self-explanatory. China has repeatedly made it clear to the US that the Taiwan question is the first red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations. Despite this, the Pentagon insisted on standing on the periphery of China's red line and continuing to provoke China, instead of creating the conditions for dialogue. Some people in the US even act innocent: They talk about 'dialogue,' but what they do is create a 'communication' in the sense of 'I can hit you but you can't hit me back.' China will never tolerate such behavior.