WASHINGTON: US officials have said that US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart following Beijing carried out war games around Taiwan. In a statement, the Pentagon said that Defense Secretary Austin would meet with Chinese Admiral Dong Jun when they attend the May 31-June 2 Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of defense officials across the world.
Austin’s meeting with Dong had been widely anticipated since they spoke by phone in April, in what were the first substantive meetings between the two powers’ defense chiefs in about 18 months.
US President Joe Biden’s administration and China have been stepping up communication to ease friction, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting China last month.
But defense dialogue had lagged behind until China’s President Xi Jinping agreed to a restoration of military talks during a summit with President Biden in California in November.
Austin will travel next week to Cambodia for dialogue with defense ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and conclude his visit in France, where he will also join President Joe Biden in commemorations of the 80th anniversary of D-Day. Austin is a main figure in Western efforts to support Kyiv against a Moscow offensive.
Similarly, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin underwent a medical procedure at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center Friday and has resumed duty following temporarily transferring power to his deputy, Pentagon said in a statement.
Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said that Austin was continuing to deal with bladder issues that arose in December after his treatment for prostate cancer. Ryder said that the medical procedure was successful and is not linked to his cancer diagnosis. The statement further said that the Defense Secretary returned home following the procedure. It added that no changes in his official schedule are expected at this time.
