U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned Saturday of China’s coercive actions in the Indo-Pacific region while underscoring the need for dialogue to avoid conflict.
“The harassment that the Philippines has faced is dangerous, plain and simple,” he said in a speech at the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue.
“We all share an interest in ensuring that the South China Sea remains free and open,” he added, apparently referencing a series of aggressive Chinese moves against Philippine ships.
But he also stressed the importance of maintaining dialogue between militaries, saying, “There’s no substitute for open lines of communication to avoid misunderstandings and miscalculations.”
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 1, 2024. (AP/Kyodo)
“The United States can be secure only if Asia is secure. That’s why the United States has long maintained our presence in this region,” he said.
Austin on Friday met with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun on the sidelines of the gathering, expressing concern about China’s “provocative” military activities near Taiwan. It was the first in-person talks between the two countries’ defense chiefs since November 2022.
The United States has been enhancing security cooperation with its regional allies.
Austin said in the speech that such alliances and partnerships are the “greatest global strategic advantage” for the United States, pointing to joint development and production in their defense industries, including the project with Japan to develop a new missile capable of intercepting hypersonic weapons.
China criticized the U.S. strategy articulated by Austin as “political rhetoric that sounds good but does no good,” saying it builds “exclusive clubs with a Cold War mentality and a zero-sum mindset in the name of advancing regional cooperation.”
Lt. Gen. Jing Jianfeng, deputy chief of staff of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission, said the United States’ true motive is to converge small alliances into a larger group, effectively creating an Asia-Pacific version of NATO and maintaining U.S. hegemony.
The U.S. strategy is meant “to create division, provoke confrontation and undermine stability,” Jing said. “It only serves the selfish geopolitical interests” of Washington, he added.
Japanese Defense Minister Minoru Kihara said in his speech to the gathering later in the day that Tokyo will “fulfill a bigger responsibility” by working with like-minded countries to “deter unilateral changes of the status quo by force and create a desirable security environment” as well as aid countries under armed threat.
Kihara dismissed the view that boosting such alliances will heighten tensions in the region. He called for further cooperation to address mounting challenges, including North Korea’s repeated ballistic missile launches in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“The fate of the international order depends upon our choices. That is why Japan chooses the rule of law over the rule of force, solidarity over division and cooperation over coercion,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, the organizer of the Singapore conference, said Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will attend the meeting and deliver a speech on Sunday.
Zelenskyy will likely seek support for his peace-building initiative, “Peace Formula,” which will be discussed at the first “Summit on Peace in Ukraine” slated for June 15 and 16 in Switzerland. He will also explore a bilateral meeting with Austin.
