Singapore:
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin mentioned on Tuesday he was committed to getting a constructive relationship with China and working on typical challenges as he laid out his vision for ties with Beijing, which have sunk to their lowest point in decades.
The United States has place countering China at the heart of its national safety policy for years and President Joe Biden’s administration has known as rivalry with Beijing “the biggest geopolitical test” of this century.
While Austin’s speech in Singapore touched on the usual list of behavior Washington describes as destabilizing, from Taiwan to the South China Sea, his comments about looking for a steady relationship could provide an opening for the two nations to begin to decrease tension.
“We will not flinch when our interests are threatened. Yet we do not seek confrontation,” Austin mentioned 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 in spite of repeated attempts because beginning as defense secretary in January.
Even with the tension and heated rhetoric, U.S. military officials have extended sought to maintain open lines of communication with their Chinese counterparts, to be in a position to mitigate possible flare-ups or tackle any accidents.
A prime Chinese diplomat, in uncommon higher-level talks with the United States, on Monday accused Washington of producing an “imaginary enemy” to divert focus from domestic challenges and suppress China.
Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, the second-ranked U.S. diplomat, had arrived on Sunday for the face-to-face meetings in China’s northern city of Tianjin.
“Big powers need to model transparency and communication,” Austin mentioned.
NOT A BINARY Option
The speech by Austin, who is set to check out Vietnam and the Philippines later this week to emphasize the significance of alliances, is becoming closely watched by states in the area worried about Beijing’s increasingly assertive behavior but heavily reliant on access to China’s huge markets.
“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 mentioned.
Biden has ramped up sanctions on China more than alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong and targeted more Chinese official last week.
In a shift from Trump, Biden has broadly sought to rally allies and partners to aid counter what the White House says is China’s increasingly coercive financial and foreign policies.
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