China's Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe was the head of the Chinese delegation at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. He spoke at the forum on its final day where he criticized the United States on a range of issues. Here's CGTN's Miro Lu with more.

Strongly worded, clear and candid - these are some keywords that have been used to describe General Wei Fenghe's speech at the Shangri-La dialogue. State Councilor and Minister of National Defence of China, General Wei addressed the plenary on China and International Security Cooperation - a first by a Chinese defense minister in eight years. General Wei expressed "firm opposition" to Washington's views on several issues including Taiwan, and South China Sea.

GENERAL WEI FENGHE CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER "If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military has no choice but to fight at all costs, at all costs for national unity. Over 100,000 ships sail through the South China Sea each year. None has been threatened. The problem, however, is that in recent years some countries outside the region come to the South China Sea to flex muscles, in the name of freedom of navigation."

General Wei maintained that any conflict or war with the US would be a disaster. He made it abundantly clear that China is open to talks on the trade dispute, while at the same time it is ready to fight if necessary.

GENERAL WEI FENGHE CHINESE DEFENSE MINISTER "As for the recent trade friction started by the U.S., if the U.S. wants to talk, we will keep the door open. If they want to fight we will fight till the end."

The Chinese delegation believes that General Wei Fenghe has successfully owned the narrative and managed to put Beijing's point across in a strong and confident manner.

JIN YINAN FORMER DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC STUDIES NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY OF PEOPLE'S LIBERATION ARMY "This is the process of China's gradual journey to the world. So compared with Shangri-La Dialogue in 2015 and 2016, I think both the internal and external environment has undergone a very big change in this year's summit. In a changing China, we are becoming more and more rational and confident. We are increasingly able to overcome the difficulties we face. And, of course, we are increasingly willing to communicate with all sides."

However, not everyone is convinced.

BONNIE GLASER SENIOR ADVISOR & DIRECTOR, CHINA POWER PROJECT CENTRE FOR STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES "I think General Wei Fenghe presented China as the victim, the US as the destabilizing factor and China simply trying to defend its interests. I don't think it was a very balanced speech. But I think he did a good job of presenting China's narrative."

Some observers saw the statements by General Wei Fenghe and his American counterpart US Acting Secretary of Defence Patrick Shanahan, as drawing a line in the sand.

AMBASSADOR ONG KENG YONG EXECUTIVE DEPUTY CHAIRMAN S. RAJARATNAM SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL STUDIES "The danger about drawing lines in the sand is that it is fixed and in future discussion and negotiation it might be difficult to make diplomatic adjustment, left or right of what has been drawn."

MIRO LU SINGAPORE "Opinions may differ on whether General Wei Fenghe has managed to convince the delegates of China's position. After all disagreements are the essence of the Asia Security Summit. It is a platform where all parties can have candid and robust discussions and agree to disagree on key security matters in the region. Miro Lu, CGTN, Singapore."