• AFP and Bloomberg, SINGAPORE

Defense officials from around the world gathered in Singapore for Asia’s largest security forum to discuss major threats as tensions rise between the US and China.

In a speech on the second day of the Shangri-La Dialogue, which brings together more than 600 military leaders, policymakers and analysts from 40 nations, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said that dialogue between the US and China is “essential” to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict.

At a dinner on Friday night, he shook hands with Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu (李尚福), who had declined a formal meeting unless the US removed sanctions placed on him.

Photo: AFP

Austin spoke as the US Navy conducted a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait, a move that China regularly finds provocative.

The action showed the potential for miscalculation between the two sides as relations remain strained over Taiwan, US curbs on advanced chips and Beijing’s diplomatic support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Austin is on a tour of Asia that previously took him to Japan and would also include a visit to India — part of a push by top US officials to shore up alliances and partnerships in the region to counter Beijing.

“The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People’s Republic of China are essential — especially between our defense and military leaders,” Austin told the summit.

“The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict,” he said.

The US had invited Li to meet on the sidelines of the summit, but Beijing declined, with a spokeswoman saying that “the US knows clearly why there are currently difficulties in military communication.”

Chinese Ministry of National Defense spokesperson Senior Colonel Tan Kefei (譚克非) said that Austin “made several false accusations” in his remarks.

“We oppose that,” Tang told reporters in Singapore.

Chinese delegation member Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo (趙小卓) said that Washington had no business telling China what to do.

“What we do in the Chinese military is based on maintaining the core interests of China’s security, which is fundamental,” he told reporters.

Li, who is to address the forum today, was sanctioned by the US government in 2018 for buying Russian weapons, but the Pentagon says that does not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him.