Yesterday, the Shangri-La Dialogue, a leading regional security forum, entered its formal discussion session scheduled to run from June 2-4.
Heated words back and forth
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue on the morning of June 3, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin criticized China for lacking the will to dialogue to resolve tensions between the two sides.
Beijing had previously rejected Washington's request for Secretary Austin to meet with his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue. On the evening of June 2, at the event's dinner, the two men shook hands and had a brief exchange. But Secretary Austin said: "A friendly handshake at dinner cannot replace a real connection."
Reuters quoted the Pentagon leader, speaking at the dialogue, emphasizing: "I am deeply concerned that China is not willing to engage more seriously in better mechanisms to control crises between the two militaries." In addition, he also warned that if war broke out in the Taiwan Strait, it would lead to terrible consequences, affecting the global economy , especially the supply chain.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue on June 3.
In response, in an interview with CCTV on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a lieutenant general representing the Chinese Defense Ministry delegation said: "The military relationship between China and the US is facing difficulties, and the responsibility lies entirely with the US." The lieutenant general also affirmed: "China attaches great importance to the development of China-US military relations, and our interactions and communications have never been suspended." Thereby, he criticized Washington for "strengthening hegemony and provoking confrontation." Regarding the Taiwan issue, the Chinese lieutenant general also said that Secretary Austin's comments were "completely wrong."
Stress is difficult to deal with.
Responding to Thanh Nien on the evening of June 3, Professor Stephen Robert Nagy (International Christian University - Japan, scholar at the Japan Institute of International Affairs) said: "Communication and dialogue are the basic pillars to ensure preventing crisis escalation and clarifying what countries are doing. Minister Austin's statements are consistent with the US experience during the Cold War when seeking communication channels with Russia to avoid a nuclear conflict."
"For China, it sees everything through the prism of its perennial insecurity, in which Beijing believes Washington will use tactical pauses to weaken and contain China as much as possible," Nagy added.
At a deeper level, Beijing may see increased US cooperation with China’s neighbors or restrictions on chip exports to China as weighing on Beijing, Nagy said. So any cooperation with Washington, including maintaining contact, is in Beijing’s interest.
Destroyer USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93) and frigate HMCS Montreal (FFG 336) in the South China Sea on May 29.
"These perceptions of China are understandable, but they also show that either China does not realize that its actions are causing anxiety for many countries in the region, or China only intends to reshape the security and political-economic structure of the region according to its own interests," said Professor Nagy.
Meanwhile, right in the middle of the Shangri-La Dialogue, American and Chinese warships almost collided in the Taiwan Strait, in the northern part of the East Sea. Specifically, Global News (Canada) reported on the evening of June 3 that a Chinese warship ran fast, cutting across the bow of the American destroyer USS Chung-Hoon.
The incident occurred on June 3 when the USS Chung-Hoon and the Canadian frigate HMCS Montreal were operating together in the same waters. A Global News reporter was on board the HMCS Montreal at the time. The newspaper quoted Captain Paul Mountford, a commanding officer on the HMCS Montreal, as saying that the Chinese warship had acted unprofessionally and deliberately provocatively. After warning the Chinese ship, the US destroyer changed course to avoid a collision.
This is the latest incident between the US and Chinese militaries after many recent tense developments. In late May, the US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) accused a Chinese J-16 fighter jet of "dangerously approaching" a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft operating in international airspace over the East Sea on May 26. The incident occurred while the US aircraft was monitoring a Chinese naval exercise - with the participation of the Shandong aircraft carrier.
Delegation of the Ministry of National Defense of Vietnam attends the Shangri-La Dialogue
Attending this Shangri-La Dialogue was a delegation from the Vietnamese Ministry of National Defense led by Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien, member of the Central Military Commission and Deputy Minister of National Defense.
Within the framework of the conference, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien had meetings with leaders of the Ministry of National Defense and heads of delegations from several countries participating in the dialogue. At the meeting with Senior Lieutenant General Ly Thuong Phuc, the two heads of delegations affirmed that bilateral defense cooperation has been promoted by leaders at all levels in recent times, becoming increasingly substantive, and is one of the important pillars in the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and friendly neighborliness between the two countries; the two sides are ready to coordinate and implement defense cooperation activities in 2023 at an appropriate time.
At the meeting with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Donald Marles, the two sides agreed that bilateral cooperation has recently seen new developments in all areas such as delegation exchanges, training, maritime security, etc. At the meeting with Japanese Deputy Minister of Defense Masami Oka, the two countries' Deputy Ministers of Defense agreed to continue their efforts and successfully coordinate activities within the framework of the cycle of Vietnam and Japan co-chairing the ADMM+ Expert Group on UN peacekeeping. At the meeting with the leaders of the Singapore Ministry of Defense, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien expressed his desire to promote defense cooperation with other countries to become more substantive and effective. At the reception for Mr. Peter Hammerschmidt - Assistant Deputy Minister of National Defense of Canada, Senior Lieutenant General Hoang Xuan Chien acknowledged the proposals that the leaders of the Canadian Ministry of National Defense authorized Assistant Deputy Minister Peter Hammerschmidt to present at the reception, suggesting that the two sides continue to maintain exchanges of defense delegations at all levels to exchange experiences, effectively organize bilateral defense consultations towards the Defense Policy Dialogue at the level of Deputy Ministers of National Defense of the two countries in 2023.
VNA
US, Japanese and Australian defense ministers concerned about situation in East Sea
According to a statement from the US Department of Defense, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Secretary Austin, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Richard Marles and Japanese Minister of Defense Hamada Yasukazu had a three-way meeting on June 3.
During the meeting, the three ministers expressed their deep concerns about the increasingly severe security environment in the South China Sea and the East China Sea. The ministers strongly opposed any unilateral destabilizing and coercive actions that could escalate tensions in the two sea areas. In the South China Sea, the ministers also strongly opposed the militarization of disputed features, the dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia vessels, and actions that hinder other countries’ legitimate exploitation of resources.
On the same day, June 3, and also on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, according to Nikkei Asia, the three ministers and Philippine Defense Minister Carlito Galvez held talks together. At the talks, the four ministers agreed to strengthen security cooperation to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
Hoang Dinh
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