U.S., China defense chiefs trade barbs over Taiwan situation

U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs on Friday traded barbs over the situation surrounding self-ruled democratic Taiwan on the fringes of a key security meeting in Asia, with both sides warning against actions that they view as destabilizing.In their first face-to-face talks since U.S. President Joe Biden took office last year, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe was quoted by state-run media as telling U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin that his country's military will not hesitate in crushing any Taiwan independence forces.Austin emphasized the importance of peace and stability across the Tai…READ FULL ARTICLE