First talks since 2022: The American and Chinese defense ministers meet in Singapore to avert a military crisis in Asia.
In an effort to avoid possible misunderstandings and prevent a crisis in the South China Sea and around Taiwan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun held a meeting in Singapore last Friday, reports the Washington Post. This meeting is the first face-to-face conversation between the two since 2022.
According to the report, the US has called on China to cooperate to avoid misunderstandings and to re-establish direct military lines or “hotlines” to avoid a possible escalation.
These efforts are particularly important in the South China Sea, where Beijing is involved in confrontations with American allies such as the Philippines. In addition, according to the Washington Post, China’s military activity around Taiwan is intensifying.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security summit, in Singapore. According to the Washington Post, Beijing has changed defense ministers twice since the last meeting in 2022 and suspended high-level military dialogue for 15 months. This was a protest response to a visit to Taiwan by Nancy Pelosi, then Speaker of the US House of Representatives.
It was only in November that Beijing agreed to reopen communication channels when President Biden met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in California.