U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said on Saturday that the Asia-Pacific region remains a security priority for the Biden administration, while insisting that Beijing and Washington can prevent their competition from escalating into war.
For more than two years, the Pentagon has focused on supporting Ukraine and later controlling risks in the Middle East as the Israeli army battles Hamas. But China's growing military power is “Pace Challenge” Pentagon planners say — meaning this critical relationship, if mishandled or ignored, could draw the United States into war.
Austin sought to assure a gathering of diplomats and defense officials in Singapore that Washington could meet these multiple global demands.
“We don’t operate in a vacuum, of course,” Austin said in a speech at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue. “Despite these historic conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the Indo-Pacific remains our primary theatre of operation.”
Even in Singapore, however, Mr Austin may not be able to avoid calls for war as Ukraine resists a Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to fly to Singapore for a security conference in an effort to rally stronger global support for his country. Reuters Has been reported.
Austin's speech to America's Asian partners came a day after he held his first face-to-face talks with his Chinese counterpart in 18 months. In his speech and in talks with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Dong Jun, Austin discussed initial steps to curb military tensions, even as the United States and China hold opposing positions on long-standing disputes such as Taiwan and the South China Sea.
“I told Mr. Dong that if he called me with something urgent, I would answer the phone, and I certainly hoped he would do the same,” Mr. Austin said. “I think that kind of communication helps keep things on track.”
Austin’s 75-minute meeting with Admiral Tung in Singapore came after a number of Biden administration officials traveled to Beijing for talks on trade imbalances, U.S. restrictions on U.S. technology trade with China, China’s support for Russia during its war with Ukraine and other tensions.
President Biden bring the action China and the United States must maintain high-level communication to avoid potential crises. However, military issues remain the most thorny area of tension in the relationship, and differences could lead to conflict, especially in the Pacific, where ships and military aircraft from the two countries often come into close contact.
Austin and Tung discussed possible specific measures to prevent accidents or miscommunications from leading to conflict. Austin raised an earlier proposal that Chinese and U.S. military commanders hold conference calls in the coming months, and the Pentagon said in a statement that he “welcomes plans to convene a crisis communications working group before the end of the year.” Statement on the talks.
Senior U.S. Defense Department officials told reporters that Mr. Austin had proposed that Admiral Samuel Paparo, the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, speak with his Chinese counterpart. The two militaries set up a crisis communications working group in 2020 to discuss ideas for defusing possible conflicts, but The group met only once.
Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Senior Colonel Wu Qian said General Dong and Austin “agreed to have more communication and exchanges in the next stage,” but he was more cautious about the timing of the call between the two commanders and the meeting of the new crisis communications group.
When asked about the call, he said: “The relevant departments of our two militaries are coordinating and communicating on this matter.”
Military confrontation between the United States and China, and fears of incidents at sea turning into crises, are rooted in long-standing, intractable disputes. These include China’s claim to Taiwan, an island democracy that relies on the United States for security, and Beijing’s increasingly assertive claims to vast tracts of the South China Sea, which have worried its neighbors.
Pentagon Officials also warned that People’s Liberation Army aircraft and ships have become increasingly aggressive and reckless, closely tracking and harassing U.S. warships and aircraft flying near China, as well as those of allies such as Australia, often to gather intelligence.
Austin pressed Admiral Tung on China’s military activities around Taiwan and suggested the United States would continue to send warships and aircraft into international air and waters near China despite frequent harassment by the Chinese military.
“The Secretary made clear that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly as permitted by international law,” the Pentagon said in a summary of the talks.
Beijing rejects the idea that other countries have the right to fly military aircraft and ships near China's coast. The officials’ views Agreeing to stricter rules for encounters between aircraft and ships would only give the U.S. military greater freedom to approach China's coast and acquire useful images and signals.
“China believes that being able to sail does not mean being able to do whatever it wants. We believe that security is mutual, not that one side should have absolute security at the expense of the other side,” Wu told reporters.
General Dong will become Defense Minister Following his predecessor disappear suddenlyApparently, he is busy investigating corruption and other misconduct within the People's Liberation Army of China. He is believed to lack the authority to make major strategic decisions.
“He is not a member of the Central Military Commission, let alone the Politburo,” Drew Thompson, visiting senior fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, said of the two highest echelons of power in the Chinese Communist Party.
Admiral Dong's predecessor General Li ShangfuSanctioned by the United States, Refusal to hold talks Mr Austin met with Admiral Tung in Singapore last year. Speech by video link Mr Austin last held a face-to-face meeting with his Chinese counterpart in April. November 2022when he met with General Wei Fenghe in Cambodia.
Austin and Admiral Tung met on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore, where Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. highlighted risks in the region.
The Philippines has been at odds with China over sovereignty in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea. Asked whether the Philippines would seek support from the United States under a mutual defense treaty if Chinese vessels killed Filipino sailors, Marcos expressed his expectations.
“If there is a deliberate killing of Filipino citizens, I think that is very, very close to what we would define as an act of war,” he told an audience of diplomats and defense officials at the Shangri-La Dialogue, adding that “the Philippines will respond accordingly and I am sure our treaty partners hold the same standard.”
After Marcos' speech, the Chinese delegation held a late-night press conference to condemn Marcos' remarks and warn the United States not to intervene.
“We firmly oppose interference and involvement of non-regional countries in the South China Sea issue,” Lieutenant General He Lei, former vice president of the PLA Academy of Military Sciences, told reporters. “We will never let the wolf into the house.”
