SINGAPORE: United States (US) Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin Saturday said that dialogue between his country and China is essential to avoid miscalculations that, he added, could lead to conflict.
He said he was deeply perturbed by Beijing’s unwillingness to engage in crisis management between the two militaries. “We do not seek conflict or confrontation,” Austin said in his address at the Shangri La Dialogue, Asia’s top security summit, in Singapore.
“But we will not flinch in the face of bullying or coercion,” he said further.
Austin’s remarks were likely targeted at China. China Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu had declined Austin’s requests to meet this week at the summit. However, the two did shake hands on the summit’s sidelines Friday. The Pentagon said the two defence officials had no “substantive exchange.”
“I’m deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries,” Austin said in his speech, using the abbreviation for the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
There are many issues that the United States and China don’t agree on, including territorial disputes regarding the South China Sea and an alleged spy balloon that was shot down by a United States fighter plane after the balloon floated across the United States.
Perhaps the most vexing is the issue of Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its own and wants to bring under its rule. China has become increasingly aggressive with its moves against Taiwan, setting up a situation that could resemble Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
That similarity wasn’t lost on Austin, who said Saturday, “How dangerous our globe would become if big countries could invade their peaceful neighbours with impunity.” He said the United States is “determined to maintain peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and so are several countries around the globe.” China’s defence minister will deliver his address to the summit on Sunday.
