Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun met early on Friday on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue to hold their first substantive face-to-face discussion in 18 months. They began the talks at the luxury hotel hosting the security forum, according to officials. The meeting followed a video conference call in April.
Defense chiefs and officials from around the world are attending the annual forum that has in recent years become a barometer of US-China relations, Al Jazeera reported. 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 William Lai Ching-te, who Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist”. The dispute over democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, tops the list of disagreements between the rivals.
Beijing is furious over Washington’s deepening defense 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 the activities as part of a decades-long US effort to contain it. In a post on X early on 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”.
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