US defence secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday criticised China for conducting dangerous aerial intercepts over the South China Sea and warned that Washington wouldn’t be deterred by harmful behaviour within the Indo-Pacific area.
China was conducting “an alarming variety of dangerous intercepts of US and allied plane flying lawfully in worldwide airspace”, Austin mentioned on the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
His remarks got here days after the Pentagon launched a video displaying a Chinese language fighter jet flying dangerously close to a US spy aircraft.
“We don’t search battle or confrontation, however we won’t flinch within the face of bullying or coercion,” Austin mentioned.
The annual Asia safety discussion board hosted by the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research think-tank has incessantly served as one of many few venues for US defence secretaries to fulfill their Chinese language counterparts. Nonetheless China this yr refused an invite from Austin for a gathering as a result of the US maintains sanctions on Chinese language defence minister Li Shangfu.
On Friday, Austin attended a dinner the place Li was current. The 2 males shook palms of their first interplay since Li, who’s talking on the discussion board on Sunday, grew to become defence minister in March.
In a speech that burdened the US dedication to allies within the area, Austin not directly referred to as on China to interact with the Pentagon.
“For accountable defence leaders, the fitting time to speak is any time, the fitting time to speak is each time, and the fitting time to speak is now. Dialogue isn’t a reward. It’s a necessity,” mentioned Austin.
Requested if the Pentagon had made any progress in attempting to carry nuclear arms management talks with China, Austin responded: “You bought to speak to them first, in order quickly as they reply the cellphone, perhaps we’ll [talk].”
His feedback come because the US tries to kick-start top-level engagements with Chinese language officers in an effort to stabilise relations. China has refused to offer a inexperienced mild to a go to from secretary of state Antony Blinken, who cancelled a visit to Beijing in February over an alleged Chinese language spy balloon.
However the Monetary Instances reported on Friday that CIA director Invoice Burns made a secret journey to Beijing in Might and met Chinese language intelligence officers. Two folks aware of the journey mentioned China invited Burns to go to.
In his speech, Austin mentioned Washington and its allies had made “super progress” in the direction of making certain peace and stability within the Indo-Pacific in what he intimated was a response to China.
“Increasingly more, the international locations of the Indo-Pacific have come collectively round a compelling imaginative and prescient of the long run,” Austin mentioned. “It’s a imaginative and prescient of a area during which all international locations are free to thrive on their very own phrases — with out coercion, intimidation, or bullying.”
In one other indirect reference to China amid issues about doable navy motion in opposition to Taiwan, Austin mentioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine “introduced house to folks in every single place how harmful our world would turn out to be if massive international locations might simply invade their peaceable neighbours with impunity”.
He mentioned the US was “doubling down” on its alliances and “stepping up planning, co-ordination and coaching with our buddies from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean”.
Requested by the Monetary Instances if the US was making progress creating joint operational conflict plans with allies, significantly Japan and Australia, for a Taiwan contingency, Austin declined to touch upon specifics.
However he mentioned it was essential to extend interoperability between militaries and that whereas the Pentagon had finished loads, the progress to this point was “on no account the place any of us need to be finally”.
A US official mentioned the US was crusing by means of the Taiwan Strait because the Shangri-La Dialogue was being held. China incessantly objects to the US navy crusing ships by means of the waters separating Taiwan from mainland China.
