‘Important to have open lines of communication with China’
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin stressed the importance of communication during a stopover on Thursday in Tokyo, calling it unfortunate that his Chinese counterpart is refusing to meet him at an upcoming annual security conference in Singapore, which both men are attending.
On the way to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit this weekend, Austin held talks with Japanese defence minister Yasukazu Hamada.
Noting China’s increasingly assertive military actions in international airspace and waterways in the region, he told a joint news conference in Tokyo, “The provocative intercepts of our aircraft and also our allies’ aircraft, that’s very concerning, and we would hope that they would alter their action.”
The United States military said on Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet flew aggressively close to a US reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea, forcing the American pilot to fly through the turbulent wake.
“I’m concerned about at some point having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control,” Austin said.
“I would welcome any opportunity to engage with leadership. I think defence departments should be talking to each other on a routine basis or should have open channels for communication.”
China’s new defence minister Li Shangfu declined to meet US defence secretary Lloyd Austin, the Pentagon said on Monday.
China’s defence ministry spokesperson said in response to a query at a news conference in Beijing that exchanges between the two militaries have always been ongoing but that the U.S. was “entirely to blame” for current difficulties.
“On the one hand, the US keeps saying that it wants to strengthen communication, but on the other hand, it ignores China’s concerns and artificially creates obstacles, seriously undermining the mutual trust between the two militaries,” said the spokesperson, without saying what the obstacles were.
Japan and China set up a defence hotline in March to improve communication and avoid accidental encounters in the tense region, and Hamada and Li recently held their first telephone talks on the hotline.
Washington and Beijing have yet to hold such a talk, and when Austin phoned their crisis line in February, the call went unanswered.
Also on Thursday, China’s government criticised US plans to sign a trade treaty with Taiwan and called on Washington to stop official contact with the self-ruled island democracy claimed by Beijing as part of its territory. The agreement comes amid increased Chinese efforts to intimidate Taiwan by flying fighter jets and bombers near the island.