Although the more than one hour meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Friday was the first face-to-face meeting between the two countries’ defense chiefs since 2022, both chose to cut short the formalities and go straight to the core issues impacting Sino-US security relations — the Taiwan question and the South China Sea disputes.
The US-backed, pro-independence Taiwan administrative head, Lai Ching-te, taking office on May 20, and the Philippines’ increasingly provocative moves in the South China Sea must have prompted the two sides to hold the meeting. That the conversation the two defense chiefs had on the phone in April covered the same subjects points to the pressing need to manage the two potential flashpoints.
Although such exchanges are, as both sides claim, building on the summit of the two heads of state in San Francisco in November 2023, the dire situation across the Taiwan Strait and the increasingly provocative actions of the Philippines, along with the fraught bilateral economic relations, are the main issues that should be urgently addressed but cannot be because the US rarely, if ever, matches its words with deeds. The US is equally hypocritical on trade and technology issues.
At the ongoing Shangri-La Dialogue, which has brought together the defense and security chiefs of over 50 countries and regions, Austin, according to reports, is likely to urge allies to work closely with the US and be prepared to respond to emerging challenges and threats in the “Indo-Pacific” region and beyond. In contrast, Dong is expected to expound on China’s global security vision, calling on countries to not be dragged into major powers’ geopolitical games and, instead, safeguard peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific. In fact, China has always counterbalanced the US’ destructive actions with constructive endeavors. It is clear the different kinds of future their forked paths can lead to.
