SINGAPORE - The US and China defence chiefs are meeting on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Singapore, the first in-person meeting at this level in 18 months.
It comes days after China sent warships and fighter jets near Taiwan, a source of geopolitical tension for the United States and China.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun – appointed to the role five months ago – began their meeting at 12.50pm at the Shangri-La Hotel, ahead of the Shangri-La Dialogue that starts on Friday night.
Both men had previously spoken over the phone in April, during which they discussed contentious issues including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
The May 31 meeting in Singapore is a realisation of an agreement by US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November 2023 to resume military communication, which was severed after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Both countries have since emphasised the need for senior military-to-military communication to prevent unintended conflict.
But ties between the two major powers remain rocky, with the US banning the Chinese-owned TikTok and blaming China for dumping excess electric vehicles in other markets, China being seen as supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, and the Taiwan Strait becoming a flashpoint between the two sides.
The self-governing Taiwan, an ally of the US, is claimed by China as its territory. Cross-strait tension, already high since 2016 when the island’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party came to power, heightened further after the May 20 inauguration of new President Lai Ching-te, seen by China as a “dangerous separatist”.
In the South China Sea, ships from the Philippines - a US treaty ally - and China have locked horns near disputed islands and reefs on multiple occasions over the past year.
The Chinese defence minister who attended last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, General Li Shangfu, had turned down Mr Austin’s invitation to meet then, as the US had not removed sanctions placed on him for his role in procuring equipment from Russia when he was head of the Equipment Development Department of the Chinese military.
Gen Li then disappeared from public view a few months after the June forum and was removed in October. Admiral Dong, who was formerly the Navy chief, replaced Gen Li as defence minister in December.
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2024-05-31 06:38:00Z
CBMigAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5zdHJhaXRzdGltZXMuY29tL2FzaWEvZWFzdC1hc2lhL3VzLWNoaW5lc2UtZGVmZW5jZS1jaGllZnMtbWVldC1mb3ItdGhlLWZpcnN0LXRpbWUtYXQtc2luZ2Fwb3JlLXMtc2hhbmdyaS1sYS1kaWFsb2d1ZdIBAA
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