On Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. This marks their first face-to-face meeting since late 2022 and is a significant step as both nations seek to reestablish high-level military communication.
The meeting, lasting 75 minutes, explored contentious issues including heightened military activity around Taiwan, China’s support for Russia's defense industrial base, and friction in the South China Sea. Austin expressed concerns over China's military actions near Taiwan and reaffirmed the U.S. stance on operating freely under international law. Dong reiterated China's position on Taiwan as an internal matter and criticized U.S. actions and alliances in the region.
Both defense leaders emphasized the importance of maintaining dialogue to prevent conflicts and agreed to create a crisis communications working group by year’s end. This development follows efforts by President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping to stabilize relations, stemming from their meeting in November.
Future arrangements include potential communication between U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s Admiral Samuel Paparo and Chinese counterparts. The need for regular military dialogue remains crucial to manage the complexities and risks in the Asia-Pacific security landscape.