Committed to stable, constructive ties with China: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

SINGAPORE, July 27

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US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday he was committed to having a constructive relationship with China and working on common challenges as he laid out his vision for ties with Beijing, which have sunk to their lowest point in decades.

The United States has put countering China at the heart of its national security policy for years and President Joe Biden’s administration has called rivalry with Beijing “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.

While Austin’s speech in Singapore touched on the usual list of behaviour Washington describes as destabilising, from Taiwan to the South China Sea, his comments about seeking a stable relationship could provide an opening for the two countries to start to reduce tension. “We will not flinch when our interests are threatened. Yet we do not seek confrontation,” Austin said in Singapore.

“I am committed to pursuing a constructive, stable relationship with China, including stronger crisis communications with the People’s Liberation Army.” Austin has been unable to speak with any senior Chinese official despite repeated attempts since starting as Defence Secretary in January. Even with the tension and heated rhetoric, US military officials have long sought to keep open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts, to be able to mitigate potential flare-ups or tackle any accidents. A top Chinese diplomat, in rare high-level talks with the United States, accused Washington of creating an “imaginary enemy” to divert attention from domestic problems and suppress China. — Reuters

Easing tensions

• The speech by US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who is set to visit Vietnam and the Philippines later this week to emphasise the importance of alliances, is being closely watched by states in the region worried about Beijing’s increasingly assertive behaviour but heavily reliant on access to China’s large market.
• “We are not asking countries in the region to choose between the United States and China. In fact, many of our partnerships in the region are older than the People’s Republic of China itself,” Austin said.