US, China defence chiefs meet in Cambodia

Cambodia: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Cambodia yesterday, with both sides describing the talks as productive without backing away from their core positions.

The rival powers have clashed over a host of issues including Taiwan, security and human rights, but there have been attempts to lower the temperature since a rare summit between the leaders of both countries last week.

US President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping tried to cool the rhetoric but the differences were clear – and the exchange between their defence chiefs was similar.

A senior US defence official said the talks between Austin and Wei on the sidelines of a conference of defence ministers in Siem Reap were “productive” and “professional”.