China warns of force over Taiwan, limits on sea row but calls for more US talks

Chinese defense minister Dong Jun warned his military is ready to "forcefully" stop Taiwan independence but called for greater exchanges with the United States.

Dong, speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue conference in Singapore, said Taiwan is the "core of core issues" for China, but Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party is incrementally pursuing separatism.

"Those separatists recently made fanatical statements that show their betrayal of the Chinese nation and their ancestors. They will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history," he said.

Dong and US defense chief Lloyd Austin met for over an hour at the luxury hotel hosting the forum, which is attended by defense officials from around the world and in recent years has been seen as a barometer of US-China relations.

"We have always been open to exchanges and cooperation, but this requires both sides to meet each other halfway," Dong said. "We believe that we need more exchanges precisely because there are differences between our two militaries."

After the meeting, Austin said telephone conversations between US and Chinese military commanders would resume "in the coming months," while Beijing hailed the "stabilizing" security relations between the countries.

Dong also warned of "limits" to Beijing's restraint on the South China Sea and over the deployment of ballistic missiles in the Asia-Pacific region.

"China has maintained sufficient restraint in the face of rights infringements and provocation, but there are limits to this," he said.

The US Army said it deployed a Mid-Range Capability missile system capable of firing the Standard Missile 6 and the Tomahawk Land Attack Missile in the northern Philippines for annual joint exercises.

The deployment of "medium-range ballistic missiles" was "severely damaging regional security and stability," Dong said.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused China of stopping countries from attending a peace summit, which Beijing has publicly criticized because Russia is not invited.

Zelensky, who was also in Singapore, said China, "unfortunately, is working hard today to prevent countries from coming to the peace summit" in Switzerland in June.

But foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said: "Beijing believes the "equal participation of all parties and fair discussion of all peace plans."