US should stop its provocation over Taiwan and South China Sea, Beijing defence minister tells Mark Esper

Wei Fenghe calls on Washington to cease flexing its muscles, while Esper says his country seeks a free and open Indo-Pacific

But the two defence ministers discuss how military-to-military cooperation can be a ‘stabiliser’ in the broader relationship

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Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe greets US counterpart Mark Esper in Bangkok on Monday. Photo: AP

Published: 10:00pm, 18 Nov 2019Updated: 11:37pm, 18 Nov 2019

China’s defence minister has warned the United States against making provocative gestures over Taiwan and the South China Sea, but added that inter-military relations could help stabilise the two countries’ volatile relationship.

During closed-door talks on the sidelines of a gathering of defence ministers in Bangkok, Wei Fenghe stressed to his US counterpart Mark Esper that China was “resolute and determined” about defending what it saw as its claims and rights in the South China Sea, ministry spokesman Wu Qian said on Monday after the meeting. Parts of the South China Sea are also claimed by China’s neighbours.

“Minister Wei … urged the US to stop flexing muscles in the South China Sea and to not provoke and escalate tensions,” Wu said.

It was the first meeting between the two defence ministers and came two weeks after their first telephone conversation.

Esper tweeted that he had discussed with Wei how the two nations could continue a relationship focused on “maintaining the international rule-based system” that had lasted for 70 years.