June 2, 2024
SINGAPORE – The US and Chinese defence chiefs met on the sidelines of a regional security forum in Singapore, in a 75-minute meeting that ran longer than scheduled and which offers a boost to military-to-military communication that both sides said will be actively continued.
The May 31 meeting between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun – newly appointed just five months ago – was the first in-person meeting at this level in 18 months.
Both men underscored the importance of stepping up military dialogue, which had been cut after then US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Plans to convene a crisis communications working group by the year end were discussed, said the Pentagon in a statement after the meeting, while the Chinese at a press briefing called for exchanges between military scholars to build trust.
The meeting between the defence chiefs comes six months after US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to resume military-to-military talks when they met in San Francisco.
It also took place days after China sent warships and fighter jets near Taiwan, a source of geopolitical tension for the US and China.
Mr Austin expressed his concern to Admiral Dong about the recent “provocative” Chinese military activity around the Taiwan Strait, the Pentagon said in the statement on its website.
He also told Adm Dong his concerns about North Korea’s direct contributions to Russia’s war on Ukraine, discussed China’s role in supporting Russia’s defence industrial base and underscored the importance of freedom of navigation for US ships and planes, the Pentagon said.
For his part, Adm Dong presented China’s positions on a range of hot-button issues, including Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Ukraine crisis and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, to his US counterpart, Chinese defence ministry spokesman Wu Qian told reporters after the meeting.
Senior Colonel Wu acknowledged that although none of these positions was new, the fact that both ministers met in person and talked was important enough.
“We’ve always believed that face-to-face communication between the two ministers is very important.
“This allows them to more deeply appreciate the positions and views of the other side,” he said.
The meeting was “positive, practical and constructive”, he added.
Both defence chiefs had previously met in a video teleconference call in April and had discussed contentious issues including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait.
But ties between the two major powers remain rocky, with the US banning the Chinese-owned TikTok and accusing China of dumping excess electric vehicles in other markets, China being seen as supporting Russia in its war against Ukraine, and the Taiwan Strait becoming a flashpoint between the two sides.
The self-governing Taiwan, an ally of the US, is claimed by China as its territory.
Cross-strait tension, already high since 2016 when the island’s independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party came to power, heightened further after the May 20 inauguration of new President Lai Ching-te, seen by China as a “dangerous separatist”.
In the South China Sea, ships from the Philippines – a US treaty ally – and China have locked horns near disputed reefs on multiple occasions over the past year.
The US has repeatedly called for “guard rails” to manage the military ties and prevent accidental escalation.
The Chinese defence minister who attended the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2023, General Li Shangfu, had turned down Mr Austin’s invitation to meet then, as the US had not removed sanctions placed on him for his role in procuring equipment from Russia when he was head of the Equipment Development Department of the Chinese military.
Gen Li then disappeared from public view a few months after the June forum and was removed in October.
Adm Dong, who was previously the navy chief, replaced him as defence minister in December.
Senior Col Wu, the spokesman, acknowledged that both sides continue to hold differing views and that the meeting on May 31 cannot begin to resolve all the issues.
“Although the way ahead is arduous and long, as long as we continue to pursue our goal, we will eventually arrive,” he said about the importance of continuing dialogue.