Bangkok, Jun 1 (EFE).- United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday in Singapore that he is open to dialog with China, after meeting Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in the city-state to reduce tensions between countries.
“As leading powers it is important to work together to avoid and reduce miscalculations and misunderstandings. Not all conversations are going to be simple, but we have to talk,” Austin said during his participation in the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum. .
“The key is that we are talking and while we talk we can identify the problems (…) we can only do that while you dialogue and keep the communication channels open,” the US representative said.
China and Washington differ on the autonomy and status of Taiwan, which Beijing considers a rebellious province, and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, which Chinese authorities claim almost completely, among others matters.
The defense chiefs of the US and China held their first military meeting at that level between the powers in a year and a half on Friday, reinforcing bilateral dialog despite the accusations they exchanged about Taiwan, Gaza and Ukraine.
Austin and Dong discussed these and other issues for about 75 minutes, longer than expected, before the start of the aforementioned defense forum, the most important in Asia, and where the Chinese official plans to speak Sunday.
In a conciliatory tone, the US defense secretary said on several occasions during his shift today that dialog between countries “has no substitute” when it comes to calming tensions and that if his Chinese counterpart calls him “he will always answer the phone.”
In seemingly veiled statements without citing China, Austin also mentioned countries being “harassed” in the South China Sea, where Chinese ships have fired water cannons at Philippine ships, and nations that try to “impose their will,” highlighting the differences between both world powers.
The US official also spoke of the alliances forged in the last three years by Washington, which many analysts observe as a counterweight to Beijing’s growing influence in the strategic Indo-Pacific region.
“The US is safe if Asia is safe. And that is why we are here (…) The US is a Pacific nation and is very committed to the region,” Austin said.
Since 2021, the US has led the AUKUS alliance, together with Australia and the United Kingdom, and the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, together with India, Japan and Australia, while it has strengthened its military relationship with other “like-minded” partners such as the Philippines, South Korea and Papua New Guinea. EFE
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