China 'strongly deplores' Hegseth's comments on Taiwan, warns US against 'playing with fire'

China on Sunday warned the United States it “should not play with fire” over Taiwan and said it had lodged “representations” with Washington over comments made by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth at a summit in Singapore.

Hegseth issued a stark warning earlier on Saturday , saying that China is “credibly preparing” to use military power to disrupt the current balance in Asia. China’s army “is rehearsing for the real deal,” Hegseth said in a keynote speech at a security conference in Singapore. “We are not going to sugarcoat it — the threat China poses is real. And it could be imminent.”

He added that the Chinese military was building the capabilities to invade Taiwan and “rehearsing for the real deal”.

In a statement released just after midnight, China’s foreign ministry said it had “lodged solemn representations with the US side” over Hegseth’s comments, adding that it “strongly deplores” his remarks.

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“The US should not try to use the Taiwan issue as a bargaining chip to contain China and should not play with fire,” it said.

Beijing, which did not send its defence minister Dong Jun to the Singapore summit, called the “Taiwan issue” China’s “internal affair” and said foreign countries had no right to interfere.

China views Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to “reunify” with the democratic and separately governed island, by force if necessary. It has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims, including increasing the intensity of war games around Taiwan.

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Hegseth also accused Beijing of “illegally seizing and militarising lands” in the disputed South China Sea.

Beijing claims almost the entire waterway, despite an international ruling that its assertion has no merit.

The foreign ministry on Sunday claimed there had “never been any issue” with navigation in the waterway.

China “is committed to safeguarding its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with the law”, a ministry spokesperson said.

Beijing also accused the United States of turning the Indo-Pacific region into a “powder keg” by deploying weapons in the South China Sea.

With inputs from agencies