US President Joe Biden criticized Wednesday (October 27th) the “
coercive
”
actions
of China in the Taiwan Strait, in a message addressed to the summit of countries in the Asia-Pacific region in which the Chinese premier also participates.
Speaking via video link, President Biden stressed that the United States is "
deeply concerned about China's coercive and aggressive actions ... in the Taiwan Strait
," which separates mainland China from Taiwan.
Read alsoAt the UN, the United States agitates Taiwan in front of China
Tensions have increased in this area with the increase in Chinese air raids near Taiwan, which Beijing sees as a province to be reunited, if necessary by force, to China.
Such actions "
threaten regional peace and stability
," added the US president according to a recording of his remarks obtained by AFP.
The East Asia summit, which is being held in virtual form this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, brings together 18 countries from the Asia-Pacific region.
Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is attending, as are Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of South Korea and Japan.
The summit is organized by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) which has ten countries.
Defend "unhindered commercial traffic"
Joe Biden said on television last week that the United States was ready to defend the island in the event of an attack from China.
And on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called
for Taiwan's “
significant participation
” within the United Nations institutions, triggering a controversy with China.
"
Taiwan has no right to participate in the UN,
" retorted the next day in Beijing the spokesperson for the Office of Taiwanese Affairs, Ma Xiaoguang, recalling that only sovereign states can join.
Read alsoTaiwan, epicenter of military tensions between China and the United States
President Biden also targeted Beijing's maritime ambitions on Wednesday, stressing that the United States was "
fully committed
" to the defense of "
freedom of navigation, open waterways, unimpeded commercial traffic, including including in the South China Sea
”. The South China Sea and its islands are the subject of competing claims from China and several Southeast Asian countries.
The United States will also discuss "
human rights in Xinjiang and Tibet, and the rights of the people of Hong Kong
."
Burma, a country in crisis since the seizure of power by the military junta in February, was at the center of the meeting.
The United States “
stand alongside the people of Burma and call on the military regime to end the violence, release all political prisoners and return to the path of democracy,
” the US president stressed.
Joe Biden had separate talks with ASEAN leaders on Tuesday.