US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin tells security summit that ‘conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable’.
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday, Asia’s top security summit, Austin said that open lines of communication between US and Chinese defence and military leaders were essential to avoid conflict and bolster stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
“I am deeply concerned that the PRC [People’s Republic of China] has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries,” Austin told the meeting in Singapore.
“The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict,” he said.
Austin made specific mention of Chinese planes making “risky intercepts of US and allied aircraft flying lawfully in international airspace”.
“We won’t be deterred by dangerous operational behaviour at sea or in international airspace,” he wrote in a series of tweets summarising his speech to the summit.
“Open lines of communication with the People’s Republic of China are essential – especially between our defence and military leaders,” he said in another tweet.
“For responsible defence leaders, the right time to talk is any time, the right time to talk is every time, and the right time to talk is now,” he said.
“Dialogue is not a reward. It is a necessity.”
Source : https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/3/us-says-talks-with-china-key-to-a-prevent-crisis-or-conflict