‘Competition does not mean conflict’: American defence chief leaves door open to cooperation with China
- Patrick Shanahan’s address to Singapore security forum signals Washington’s willingness to engage with Beijing, Chinese colonel says
The United States slammed China on Saturday over its “aggressive behaviour” in Asia, but left room for continuing bilateral cooperation in the region.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, acting US secretary of defence Patrick Shanahan said Washington would continue to compete with Beijing, but was still willing to cooperate when the two countries’ interests aligned.
“Competition does not mean conflict,” he added.
“We cooperate with China where we have an alignment of interests, from military-to-military dialogue to develop risk reduction measures, to tackling transnational threats such as counter-piracy, to enforcing United Nations sanctions on North Korea,” said Shanahan, who met Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe at the security summit.
“Competition is not to be feared. We should welcome it, provided that everyone plays by internationally established rules.”
Senior Colonel Zhou Bo, director of the Centre for Security Cooperation at the Ministry of National Defence, said Shanahan’s speech reflected Washington’s willingness to engage with China.