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US-China relations
ChinaMilitary

US defence chief Lloyd Austin expected to meet Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Singapore

  • The meeting, to be held during the Shangri-La Dialogue next week, will be their first since they spoke on the phone in April
  • The announcement follows intense efforts by the US to forge closer defence ties with several of China’s neighbours

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US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin attends a press conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, on May 20. Photo: EPA-EFE
Holly Chikin WashingtonandKhushboo Razdanin Washington

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to meet his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun in Singapore next week, the Pentagon said on Friday.

The defence chiefs will talk face-to-face on the sidelines of Shangri-La Dialogue – an annual high-level defence summit in the Asia-Pacific region – for the first time after Dong was named China’s Minister of National Defence in December.
The plan comes after their first video call last month, which marked the first high-level, military-to-military contact between the two countries after more than two years.
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The virtual talks in April covered “defence relations and regional and global security issues”, including the South China Sea, Russia’s war against Ukraine, provocations by North Korea, the Taiwan Strait and defence relations between the US and China, according to the Pentagon.

While the Pentagon did not provide further details about the coming meeting with China, it said Austin’s trip to Singapore and Cambodia “comes as the Department of Defence continues to strengthen US relationships with allies and partners in support of a shared regional vision for peace, stability and deterrence”.

Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun speaks to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Astana, Kazakhstan, in April. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP
Chinese Defence Minister Dong Jun speaks to his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu in Astana, Kazakhstan, in April. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry Press Service via AP

Austin will also deliver plenary remarks during the three-day forum starting on May 31 which features ministers and government officials from more than 50 countries.

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