lieutenant general he lei: if the philippines insists on its own way, it will end up in a tragic end
2024-09-13
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the 11th beijing xiangshan forum with the theme of "building peace, sharing the future" was held at the beijing international convention center from september 12 to 14.
in an exclusive interview with a beijing daily client reporter, lieutenant general he lei, former vice president of the academy of military sciences, said that high-level exchanges between the chinese and us militaries are an important step in implementing the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in the san francisco meeting and turning the san francisco vision into reality, which is beneficial to enhancing strategic communication, avoiding misjudgments, and managing differences. we welcome the us delegation to participate in the beijing xiangshan forum, which will help them feel china and the chinese military more directly and further understand the firm position of the chinese government and the chinese people in resolutely defending the country's core interests.
at the 10th beijing xiangshan forum last year, lieutenant general he lei interacted with the head of the us delegation, mr. calles. he presented mr. calles with an armband from his pla academy of military sciences and introduced the chinese military's peace philosophy. it is worth looking forward to what kind of interaction the chinese and us representatives will have at this year's forum.
if the philippines insists on its own way, it will end up in a tragic situation
beijing daily client: first of all, i would like to ask you to talk about the current south china sea issue. since last year, the philippines has been constantly provoking and going back on its word on the south china sea issue. recently, it has attempted to occupy xianbin reef. how do you view the current situation in the south china sea?
he lei: the south china sea issue is a current regional hotspot and an issue that received attention at the 11th beijing xiangshan forum. the philippines and china are close neighbors across the sea and have traditional friendly relations, but since the second half of 2022, the philippines has strengthened the us-philippines military alliance and has done a lot of things such as forming cliques, small circles, and camp confrontations. especially in huangyan island, ren'ai reef, and now xianbin reef, it has frequently challenged china's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and the trend is getting worse.
i believe that the philippines's refusal to heed advice, its willful and erratic approach, is first and foremost a serious violation of china's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests, and a serious damage to china-philippines relations.
second, it is a violation of the relevant provisions of international laws and regulations such as the united nations convention on the law of the sea and the declaration on the conduct of parties in the south china sea, a unilateral change of the status quo, and a violation of the rules of international law.
third, it is a destruction of the peace and stability in the south china sea, and it has played an extremely disgraceful role among the ten asean countries. the united states is the driving force behind the philippines' provocation of disputes. the philippines has actually acted as a "pawn" and "gun in the hands" of the united states and the west in the confrontation with china in the south china sea. if it continues to act on its own, it will only end up with a tragic end.
the philippines should not ignore, distort or misinterpret the goodwill of the chinese people and the chinese government, and should not underestimate the firm determination, strong will, powerful capabilities and effective means of the chinese people and the chinese people's liberation army to safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.
it is better to come than not to come, it is better to meet than not to meet, it is better to talk than not to talk
beijing daily client: since the meeting between the chinese and american heads of state in san francisco, exchanges between the two countries and the two militaries have gradually resumed. how do you view the current military relations between china and the united states?
he lei: last year in san francisco, the heads of state of china and the united states met, and the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries has since entered a period of stabilization. however, there is still a long and arduous road to truly stabilize, improve, and move forward. china and the united states are now major countries with significant influence in the world, and the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries is one of the most important bilateral relations in the world. the chinese government and the chinese people cherish the relationship between the two countries and the two militaries very much. in order to implement the results of the meeting between the two heads of state in san francisco, the chinese and american militaries held high-level contacts afterwards.
in december last year, general liu zhenli, member of the central military commission and chief of staff of the joint staff department of the central military commission, had a video call with brown, the new chairman of the us joint chiefs of staff; in may this year, at the 21st shangri-la dialogue, chinese defense minister admiral dong jun and us secretary of defense austin held talks; on september 10, commander of the southern theater command of the people's liberation army of china wu yanan held a video call with commander paparo of the us indo-pacific command.
these are important steps to implement the consensus reached at the san francisco meeting and turn the san francisco vision into reality, which is welcome. high-level military exchanges between the two countries are beneficial to enhancing strategic communication, avoiding misjudgments, and managing differences.
beijing daily client: at the 10th beijing xiangshan forum last year, you interacted with the head of the us delegation, carles, the director of china affairs of the deputy assistant secretary of defense of the us department of defense, and attracted media attention. the us will send a delegation to attend this year's forum again. what are your expectations?
he lei: this time, the united states sent chen simao, deputy assistant secretary of defense, to attend the 11th beijing xiangshan forum. his level is higher than that of last year's carles. i think that no matter the level or number of the us delegation, they are all guests of the forum and we welcome them. it is better to come than not to come, to meet than not to meet, and to talk than not to talk. after coming, they can feel the concepts of china and the chinese military more directly, and listen more directly to the vision, expectations and security concerns of the representatives of the participating countries on "building peace and sharing the future", which is also beneficial.
we also want them to further understand that the chinese government and the chinese people are determined to defend the core interests of the country's core interests and see our firm position. i also hope that chen simao can be healthy and happy in the forum in the next few days, gain something, bring the gains back to the united states, and make more contributions to further strengthen the friendly relations between the chinese and american militaries.
the motherland is completely unified, please wait and see
beijing daily client: since taking office, lai ching-te has been constantly engaging in "separatist" provocations, and recently gave a speech in kinmen, exaggerating the so-called "china threat." what is your assessment of the current situation in the taiwan strait?
he lei: lai ching-te used to call himself a "pragmatic taiwan independence worker." after coming to power this year, he has publicly strengthened his "taiwan independence" views on many occasions and has gone further and further in the direction of "taiwan independence," causing great indignation among the chinese people and overseas chinese.
our two-sentence policy for resolving the taiwan issue remains unchanged. the first is to strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the greatest patience and sincerity; the second is that we will not give up other means, which are aimed at external interference and the separatist actions of "taiwan independence" diehards, and are definitely not aimed at the vast number of taiwan compatriots.
this year, the chinese government has taken two important measures to resolve the taiwan issue, which have attracted widespread attention. the first is that the "two high courts and three ministries" issued the "opinions on punishing the crimes of splitting the country and inciting splitting the country by "taiwan independence" diehards in accordance with the law". if they violate relevant laws, they can be tried and sentenced to death at the highest level, without being subject to the statute of limitations, and can be tried in absentia, etc.
second, the taiwan affairs office of the state council and the ministry of public security have published a list of 10 "taiwan independence" diehards on their website. in fact, it had already been published before, but it was put online this time.
these two major events, first, demonstrate the chinese government and the chinese people's firm determination and strong will to resolutely punish "taiwan independence" elements and realize the great cause of national reunification. second, they are also a great deterrent to the "taiwan independence" diehards. a few days ago, a "taiwan independence" element was sentenced.
last year at the beijing xiangshan forum, i said that we have no timetable for resolving the taiwan issue, and i still insist that there is no timetable this year. however, if the three situations mentioned in the anti-secession law occur, that is when we must completely resolve the taiwan issue and achieve complete reunification of the motherland. at this time, our chinese people's liberation army will definitely win the final victory under unified command, win the complete reunification of the motherland, and win the complete victory of the last battle of the chinese people's liberation war. please rest assured, and please wait and see.
china-russia joint exercises may become the norm, and the united states needs to adapt
beijing daily client: recently, the chinese and russian militaries organized a joint strategic air cruise in the airspace of the bering sea, which attracted the attention of the us military. what do you think of the current cooperation between the chinese and russian militaries?
he lei: china and russia are close neighbors and have a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era. the china-russia cooperative relationship is based on non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting other countries, but it is also our great responsibility for the two major countries to join hands and jointly safeguard regional and world peace.
china and russia conducted joint exercises, which is an internal matter of the two countries and an important part of the military cooperation between the two countries. it also complies with the three principles of the relationship between china and russia and the two militaries. the chinese and russian military aircraft arrived near the bering strait and did not affect the airspace and territorial waters of any other country, nor did they pose a threat to any other country. the us ships and aircraft went to the south china sea, which is our doorstep. we have protested to the us many times. the us has always insisted on the so-called "freedom of navigation" and even entered within 12 nautical miles of the paracel islands and our territorial waters. this is really "tolerable".
the united states made a fuss when the strategic bombers of china and russia arrived near alaska, which was still far away from its territorial waters. in the future, such joint exercises between china and russia may become the norm. the united states needs to adapt, and china will also conduct such joint exercises with other countries.
