U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin Expresses Disappointment Over China’s Refusal to Engage in Dialogue

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has expressed his disappointment in the refusal of Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu to meet with him. Austin made the comments while speaking alongside Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo on Thursday.

Austin had requested a meeting with Li during an upcoming defense summit in Singapore, but the request was declined. Austin described the refusal as “unfortunate” and highlighted the importance of the two countries having “open channels for communication.”

The United States is pushing China to talk, warning that Beijing’s apparent refusal to restore high-level military communication means dangerous incidents could “spiral out of control.” Two senior U.S. officials have voiced the criticism in the past 24 hours, pointing to the recent encounter between military aircraft over the South China Sea as evidence of the risks.

The U.S. is urging China to engage in dialogue and open communication to avoid any dangerous incidents. Austin said that the U.S. and China must have open channels of communication to ensure that any potential issues can be addressed and resolved quickly.

The IISS Shangri-La Dialogue is set to start on Friday, and it is expected that the U.S. and China will continue to discuss the importance of open communication. It remains to be seen if the two countries will be able to come to an agreement on the issue.