Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan and Chinese counterpart Wai Fenghe to meet in Singapore
- Meeting will take place on sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue
- This is the first time since 2011 that a Chinese defence minister will attend the forum
Acting US Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan will meet China’s defence minister on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue, an Asia security forum in Singapore, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday, at a time of strained tensions between Beijing and Washington over trade and security.
“We’re doing a pull-aside with the Chinese counterpart at Shangri-La,” said the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Shanahan sets off Tuesday on a tour of Asia that will take him to Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and Japan, the Pentagon said in a statement.
In Singapore, he will give a speech on the US defence strategy for the Indo-Pacific region at the dialogue, which is held annually in the Southeast Asian city state.
The forum is scheduled for May 31 through June 2. Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will deliver a speech on June 2 at the conference, the first time since 2011 that a Chinese defence minister will attend it. In recent years, China has sent lower-level officials.
