News - World: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has met with Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Wei Fenghe amid heightened tensions between the two countries over recent remarks regarding the Taipei regime.

US President Joe Biden stoked tensions when he said in May that Washington would defend Taipei if China were to attack the wayward island.

Two days later, China conducted a military drill near the island.

Speaking at the military leaders' first face-to-face meeting on Friday on the sidelines of the annual Shangri-La Dialog in Singapore, Austin said that the “US remains committed to our longstanding one-China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the Three US-China Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances.”

According to a statement from the Pentagon, Austin also warned his Chinese counterpart that Beijing must “refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan.”

“The Secretary reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Strait, opposition to unilateral changes to the status quo, and called on the PRC [People's Republic of China] to refrain from further destabilizing actions toward Taiwan,” according to the statement.

Source: Press TV