The US and its allies had tensions with China, especially over Tavwan, at the Shangri-La Dialogue meeting, Asia’s most important security forum. Despite this, the meeting was marked by the address of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and the war in Ukraine.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized at the meeting held in Singapore that Washington will do its part in managing tensions and preventing conflict with China, even as Beijing is increasing its aggression in the region.
Addressing the participants of the meeting via a video link from an undisclosed location in Kiev, President of Ukraine, Zelensky, stated that the support provided by the countries to Ukraine is critical not only in defeating the Russian occupation but also in maintaining the rules-based world order.
“The future rules of this world are being decided on the battlefields in Ukraine. “If we cannot export our food products, which are deeply lacking in global markets due to the Russian blockade, there will be a severe and severe food crisis and starvation in many countries in Asia and Africa,” he said.
The USA and China, which have been experiencing tensions in recent months especially regarding Taiwan, China’s human rights record and military activities in the South China Sea, also entered into a verbal exchange at the meeting in Singapore.
Meeting yesterday, Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe reiterated that they want to better manage their relationship, but there did not appear to be any signs of progress towards resolving the differences between the two countries.
Austin targeted China, Chinese general responded
Stressing that the United States will continue to stand by its allies, including Taiwan, Austin said, “This support has become even more important after the People’s Republic of China adopted a more coercive and aggressive approach to territorial claims.”
China sees Taiwan as its own territory and emphasizes that it will take it by force if necessary.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Austin stated that cases of unsafe and unprofessional confrontations between Chinese aircraft and ships and aircraft and ships of other countries have increased at an “alarming” level.
In his speech at the meeting, Austin noted that the cases of Chinese planes entering Taiwan’s air defense area have also increased in recent months.
Responding to these words, the Chinese senior military official, Lieutenant General Zhang Zhenzhong, described Austin’s speech as a “challenge”.
Speaking to reporters, Zhang, Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff of the Central Military Commission of China, said, “There were many baseless accusations against China. “We have expressed our strong dissatisfaction and opposition to these false accusations,” he said.
“The United States is trying to provoke these countries against some other countries by forming a small group by including some countries in the Asia-Pacific region,” Zhang said. How else could this be called other than ‘challenge’?” used the phrases.
Earlier this year, Washington stated that China intends to help Russia in the war in Ukraine. But since then, U.S. officials have said that, while they remain wary of China’s long-standing support for Russia in general, the military and economic support they are worried about has not been implemented, at least for the time being.
Ministers urge China to rein in Moscow
Ng Eng Hen, Singapore’s defense minister, who hosted the meeting, stated that the ties between China and Russia were discussed at the ministers’ meeting behind closed doors today, and many representatives called on Beijing to rein in Moscow.
Nobuo Kishi, the defense minister of Japan, one of Washington’s closest allies in Asia, said that military cooperation between China and Russia has sharpened security concerns in the region.
In her statement to Reuters, Canadian Defense Minister Anita Anand reacted to Chinese aircraft’s “worrying and unprofessional” interventions on Canadian aircraft, saying, “We must ensure the safety and security of our pilots who only perform reconnaissance missions under UN-authorized missions.”
While New Zealand stated that it was concerned about China’s efforts to increase its influence in the Pacific islands, Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles noted that the fact that China did not openly declare that it did not support the Russian occupation in Ukraine was particularly worrying given the investments it has been making in its military power.