China and US Defense Chiefs: In Singapore, the defense chiefs of China and the United States held uncommon direct talks, raising the prospect that more military communication could help keep the South China Sea and Taiwanese issues from getting out of hand.
On the fringes of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun convened early on Friday to have their first meaningful in-person conversation in eighteen months.
According to officials, they started the discussions at the opulent hotel that was hosting the security forum. Following the meeting was the video conference from April.
International defense leaders and officials attend the annual event, which has evolved into a gauge of US-China ties in recent years.
The event this year takes place one week after President William Lai Ching-te, whom Beijing has labeled a “dangerous separatist,” took office and China conducted military drills surrounding the US-backed island, threatening war.
Of all the problems between the adversaries, the most significant is the conflict over democratic Taiwan, which Beijing regards as its own.
According to Aljazeera, Beijing is incensed about Washington’s strengthening defense relations in the Asia-Pacific region, especially with the Philippines, and over the routine deployment of fighter jets and vessels in the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait.
The largest-ever combined military exercise between the US and the Philippines was held there in recent weeks. The US installed an intermediate-range missile system during military drills in the northern Philippines in April. On Thursday, China’s defense ministry strongly condemned this action, saying it “brought huge risks of war into the region.”
Reducing friction
President Joe Biden’s government and China have started talking to each other more often to ease tensions between the two nuclear-armed countries. Last month, Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing and Shanghai.
One of the main priorities has been to resume military-to-military communication.
Taiwan tracks 38 Chinese military aircraft, 11 ships around nation
In 2022, China severed military ties with the US in retaliation for US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
A meeting between Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi’s successor Kevin McCarthy, as well as US military assistance for Taipei, all contributed to the escalating hostilities between Washington and Beijing in 2023. Another issue was an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace.
Following a conference in November of last year between Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, the two sides decided to reopen high-level military negotiations.
This involves a line of communication between Chinese commanders in charge of military operations close to Taiwan, Japan, and the South China Sea, and the US Asia Pacific Command Commander.
In the contested waterway that China claims nearly exclusively, Chinese and US soldiers have had several close encounters.
Before Biden and Xi decided to restart military-to-military talks, Austin issued a warning, saying that mishaps can get out of hand, particularly when there are closed lines of contact between US and Chinese soldiers.
It was a pleasure to meet with 🇸🇬 Minister Ng today.
Singapore remains one of our most valued defense partners.
I look forward to building on our strong foundation as we advance our shared vision for peace and security together. pic.twitter.com/KBx4PdT7WJ
— Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) May 31, 2024
Austin wrote on X early Friday morning that he would be meeting with people from the region and continuing his department’s work with “like-minded Indo-Pacific partners to promote our shared vision for a free and open region.” This was to let people know that he would be in Singapore.
