US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin (left) and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun began their meeting at 12.50pm at the Shangri-La Hotel.- Reuters/AFP
SINGAPORE: The US and China defence chiefs are meeting at the sidelines of a regional security forum in Singapore, the first in-person meeting at this level in 18 months.
It comes days after China sent warships and fighter jets near Taiwan, a source of geopolitical tension for the United States and China.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun began their meeting at 12.50pm at the Shangri-La Hotel, ahead of the Shangri-La Dialogue which starts on Friday (May 31)night.
Both men had previously spoken over the phone in April, during which they discussed contentious issues including the South China Sea and the Strait of Taiwan.
This followed a meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping in San Francisco in November, when they agreed to resume military communication - severed after then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Both countries have since emphasised the need for senior military-to-military communication to prevent unintended conflict.
The Chinese defence minister who attended last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, 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.
Gen Li then disappeared from public view a few months after the June forum and was removed in October.
Admiral Dong, who was formerly the Navy chief, replaced Gen Li as defence minister in December. - The Straits Times/ANN
