US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin told reporters in Thailand on Monday that the United States does not “seek conflict, nor do we seek a region that’s split into hostile blocks” while on a visit to the Southeast Asian nation he said was aimed at underscoring “the power of partnerships”. Austin met Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha, who is also the country’s defence minister, and the two discussed “shared perspectives on regional security issues”, “opportunities to strengthen the US-Thai alliance” and increased interoperability between their militaries, according to a US Defence Department statement. Thailand and the United States are long-time military allies, despite a cooling of relations after the 2014 military coup that brought former army commander Prayuth to power. Monday’s visit was Austin’s first to Thailand as defence secretary. The two men also met in Washington last month. Other topics of discussion during Monday’s meeting included the two countries’ “emerging cooperation in new domains such as space and cyberspace”, Austin said at a briefing in Bangkok. Thai media had reported that Prayuth would likely discuss arms procurement with Austin, including of F-35 fighter aircraft, but the US defence chief did not comment specifically on that in remarks to the media. Tensions between the US and China have been growing in part over Beijing’s claims to Taiwan and much of the South China Sea, and its increasing power and influence in the region. US-China talks at security summit give region ‘some comfort’, Singapore says In a speech on Saturday at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore , Austin said China’s “steady increase in provocative and destabilising military activity near Taiwan” threatens to undermine the region’s security and prosperity. He said he was proud that Washington’s “unparalleled network of alliances and partnerships has only deepened” in the past year. China’s defence minister, General Wei Fenghe, said at the same conference that the US is trying to turn Southeast Asian countries against Beijing and is seeking to advance its own interests “under the guise of multilateralism”. China over the past decade has been trying to extend its influence in Southeast Asia, both through aid and investment, including its Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects and use of its navy and other maritime resources to press its claims to vast areas of the South China Sea. In the Bangkok briefing, Austin said a conversation he had in Singapore with his Chinese counterpart was “an important step in our efforts to develop open lines of communication” with Beijing’s defence leaders. “America never … shies away from honest competition, but we don’t seek conflict, nor do we seek a region that’s split into hostile blocks,” he said, according to a defence department transcript of his remarks. “It was an important opportunity to raise our concerns about the potential for instability in the Taiwan Strait and to underscore our … long-standing policy toward Taiwan as unwavering and unchanged.” Thailand and the United States were close allies during the Vietnam war, and in 2003, Washington designated Thailand a major non-Nato ally, one of about 20 worldwide. Such status means the US regards Thailand as a strategic partner, and facilitates some aspects of military assistance and cooperation. The annual multinational Cobra Gold military exercise, one of the world’s biggest, is hosted in Thailand in partnership with the United States. Reporting by Associated Press