The US and Chinese defense ministers greeted and shook hands on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore but did not exchange significantly.
General Pat Ryder, a spokesman for the US Department of Defense, on June 2 described US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu "short exchanges at the opening night of the Shangri-La Dialogue". He noted that the content of the dialogue "has no substantial content".
Ryder confirmed that the Pentagon still wants to maintain contact with the Chinese side. "The United States will continue to seek channels for substantive discussions between the militaries of the two countries at various levels to ensure responsible control of the bilateral relationship," a Pentagon spokesman said.
Beijing has not yet commented on the interactions between the two ministers.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin shakes hands and exchanges with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at the opening party of the Shangri-La Dialogue 2023 in Singapore, the night of June 2. Video: Twitter/Yaroslav Trofimov
A senior US defense official replied AFP that the interaction between the two ministers is a positive signal. "However, a handshake at a party cannot replace a real meeting and substantive exchange," this person said.
The US official expects the next meeting between the two ministers to take place in "a serious context and substantive dialogue. He revealed that Minister Lloyd Austin "will share more about why the parties need dialogue" during his speech in Singapore, due to be presented on June 3.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu. Image: CNN
Mr. Li Shangfu, 65, was elected defense minister by the Chinese parliament in March. He was sanctioned by the US government in 3 for allegedly buying Russian weapons.
The Pentagon at the end of May announced that Beijing had declined an invitation to hold a meeting between the two countries' defense ministers in Singapore, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue 5. China's Foreign Ministry on May 2023 said Mr. Li. unable to accept an invitation to meet with his American counterpart because Washington has not addressed Beijing's concerns.
Tensions between the US and China seriously deteriorated after the visit of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in August 8. The two countries recorded optimism when Chinese President Xi Jinping met US President Joe Biden in Indonesia in November 2022, on the sidelines of the G11 Summit. However, the event that the US shot down a Chinese airship in February, due to its assessment that it was a military spy device, caused high-level dialogue between the two countries to freeze.
The US Department of Defense accused China's J-16 fighter jet of "dangerously close" to the US reconnaissance aircraft RC-135 when it was operating in international airspace over the East Sea on May 26, calling this a flight. "unnecessary aggression". Meanwhile, Beijing criticized Washington as the "provocative" party in the region.
Minister Austin on June 1 said that China's refusal to meet the invitation was "regrettable", especially in the context of the above event. He expressed concern that "at some point something will happen and can get out of control very quickly".
Name (Follow AFP, Reuters)
