Mattis to seek more resilient US ties with China

SINGAPORE (Reuters) — US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis will seek more resilient military ties during talks with his Chinese counterpart in Singapore slated for today, a US official said, as both militaries attempt to navigate mounting tensions.

Mattis saw first hand last month how growing SinoUS friction could undermine military contacts when Beijing up-ended plans for an October meeting in China with Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, in apparent retaliation over US sanctions.

A meeting with Wei now appears set to take place on the sidelines of a gathering of Asian defense ministers in Singapore.

Randall Schriver, a US assistant secretary of defense who helps guide Pentagon policy in Asia, said making militaryto-military ties with China less brittle would be crucial to helping reduce the chances of a devastating conflict.

“Two nuclear-armed powers with regional, if not global, interests — we need to make sure that when we step on one another’s toes, it doesn’t escalate into something that would be catastrophic,” Schriver told reporters traveling with Mattis.

Schriver said he believed that sentiment was shared by China’s military, noting that it recently requested today’s talks in Singapore after Beijing decided against a planned Mattis-Wei meeting in China.

“I think the fact that he’s meeting with Minister Wei is some evidence that the Chinese are interested in keeping things normal and stable, as are we,” said Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs.

He said Wei had a standing invitation to visit the United States.