The US and Chinese defence chiefs held rare direct talks in Singapore on Friday (May 31), offering hopes for more military dialogue that could help prevent disputes over Taiwan and other flashpoint issues from spinning out of control.
The meeting between the United States’ Lloyd Austin and China’s Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue was the first substantive face-to-face talks between the two defence chiefs in 18 months.
Dong and Austin met for more than an hour at the luxury hotel hosting the security forum. Both men left the meeting room separately shortly after 2pm.
A Chinese defence spokesperson told reporters that the talks were “positive, practical and constructive”.
Both leaders discussed Taiwan, the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as the conflict in Gaza.
Austin expressed concern about Chinese military activity near Taiwan, including after the island’s presidential election and the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te this month, US Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement.
“The secretary expressed concern about recent provocative PLA activity around the Taiwan Strait, and he reiterated that the PRC should not use Taiwan’s political transition – part of a normal, routine democratic process – as a pretext for coercive measures,” Ryder said after the 75-minute meeting.
He was referring to the People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Republic of China.
Dong warned Austin that the US should not interfere in China’s affairs with Taiwan, defence ministry spokesperson Wu Qian told reporters. Dong said during the meeting that the US’ actions on Taiwan seriously violate the “one China” principle.
The US approach to Taiwan violates commitments made by the United States and sends the wrong signal to “separatist forces” in Taiwan, the spokesperson quoted Dong as saying. Beijing calls Lai a “separatist”.
Both sides, however, emphasised the importance of keeping military-to-military ties open, and a senior US defence official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the meeting marked an “important step” in opening lines of communication.
The official said Austin was “firm but professional” and also brought up China’s nuclear, space and cyber developments.
Following the meeting, the Pentagon said the US welcomed plans to convene a crisis-communications working group with China by the end of the year.
China’s defence chief also expressed hopes that the US could help with peace in the Middle East.
Defence chiefs and officials from around the world are attending the annual forum that has in recent years become a barometer of US-China relations.
This year’s edition comes a week after China held military drills around Taiwan and warned of war over the US-backed island following the inauguration of President Lai, who Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist“.
Democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, tops the list of disputes between the rivals.
Beijing is also furious over Washington’s deepening defence ties in the Asia-Pacific, particularly with the Philippines, and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.
China views this as part of a decades-long US effort to contain it.
US President Joe Biden’s administration and China have been stepping up communication to ease friction between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month.
A key focus has been the resumption of military-to-military dialogue.
China scrapped military communications with the US in 2022 in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Tensions between Washington and Beijing were stoked further during 2023 by issues including an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace, a meeting between Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi’s successor Kevin McCarthy, and American military aid for Taipei.
The two sides agreed after a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Biden in November last year to restart high-level military talks.
That includes a communications channel between the US Indo-Pacific Command chief and Chinese commanders responsible for military operations near Taiwan, Japan and in the South China Sea.
PRESSURE POINTS
Chinese and American forces have had a series of close encounters in the disputed waterway that China claims almost entirely.
Austin warned prior to Biden and Xi agreeing to resume military-to-military dialogue that accidents have the potential to spiral out of control, especially in the absence of open lines of communication between American and Chinese forces.
Friday’s meeting between Austin and Dong follows a phone call between the pair in April, and offers hope of further military talks to cool tensions.
Austin and Dong will give speeches this weekend at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which they are expected to touch on a range of their nations’ pressure points.
The United States, increasingly worried about China’s fast-developing military capabilities, has been strengthening its alliances and partnerships in the region to counter China’s growing assertiveness over Taiwan and in the South China Sea.
In a post on X early Friday announcing his arrival in Singapore, Austin said he would meet with regional counterparts and continue his department’s work with “like-minded Indo-Pacific partners to promote our shared vision for a free and open region”.
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has sought to deepen defence cooperation with the United States as he stands up to Chinese actions in waters off the Southeast Asia country, will deliver the Shangri-La Dialogue’s keynote speech on Friday.
OTHER COUNTRIES HAVE ROLE TO PLAY: EXPERT
Ms Veerle Nouwens, executive director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS)-Asia, told CNA’s Asia First on Thursday morning that countries in the region have “really felt caught in between this competition” between China and the US.
IISS, an independent think tank, holds the Shangri-La Dialogue every year.
Ms Nouwens noted how a foremost question has been how the relationship between the two superpowers pan out, and whether they will be able to establish trust with each other.
“I think that there’s a role for all countries to try and play an effective role, to try and aid in bringing down tensions,” she added.
“I think that is exactly what we’re seeing – that this does not only become a conversation between the two major powers, but that other countries in the Asia Pacific say: ‘Look, this affects our security directly and indirectly, and for that reason, we would like to try and help build the dialogue, build the conversation.’”
In terms of whether there is enough space for adequate discussion on the multiple conflicts around the world, Ms Nouwens said this speaks to the value of forums like the Shangri-La Dialogue.
“It’s unfortunate that there are so many tensions, and of course, we see so many challenges at the moment,” she added.
“But the only way to really resolve them is to be speaking to one another, and so that is exactly what I think all countries will be doing over the next two days.”
CNA
Siddhartha 