Beijing/Bangkok, May 31, (dpa/GNA) – Direct talks between the defence ministers of the superpowers the United States and China took place on Friday as a major security conference kicked off in Singapore.
The meeting between new Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin took place on the sidelines of the three-day Shangri-La Dialogue.
The bilateral discussions covered issues relating to Taiwan and the South China Sea, both sides said.
Austin expressed concerns about the activities of the Chinese army around Taiwan, according to the US Defence Department. He also spoke about China’s role in supporting Russia’s defence industry.
At the three-day conference in the South-East Asian economic centre, which kicked off on Friday, hundreds of ministers, military officials and experts from around the world plan to discuss the world’s current trouble spots and threats.
Topics such as artificial intelligence (AI), cyberdefence and future types of warfare are also expected to be discussed.
Under Dong’s now disappeared predecessor Li Shangfu, there was radio silence between the defence authorities on both sides, as Washington had imposed sanctions on Li in connection with Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Li had not been seen since a public appearance at the end of August, then Beijing dismissed him for reasons that have not been revealed officially.
Since the meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden in San Francisco in November, the military on both sides have also resumed contact.
Beijing believes that high-level strategic communication will help stabilize relations between the militaries, Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said before the start of the conference in Singapore. China is open to this, he said.
However, there are considerable tensions between the two countries, particularly in the dispute over democratically governed Taiwan, which China regards as part of its territory. The US has assured the island nation of support in the event that it faces an attack.
The United States is also allied with the Philippines, with which Beijing regularly engages in confrontations in the South China Sea over a number of reefs that China claims as its own. The issue is likely to figure in a keynote speech by Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Friday.
The Shangri-La Dialogue is regarded as the most important security policy forum in the Indo-Pacific region at defence. GNA