US and Chinese defense chiefs hold first in-person talks since 2022

Singapore CNN —

US and Chinese defense chiefs held rare talks in Singapore Friday touching on a host of fractious issues including Taiwan and China’s relationship with Russia as well as frictions in the South China Sea as the two powers navigate a contentious security landscape across the Asia-Pacific.

The meeting, between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun, is the first face-to-face talks between thetwo defense chiefs and Austin’s first such discussions with a Chinese counterpart since late 2022.

The meeting, on the sidelines of an annual defense conference in Singapore, takes place against a fraught regional backdrop. Beijing – which wields the world’s largest navy – continues to aggressively assert disputed territorial claims in the East and South China Seas, while decrying Washington’s efforts to strengthen security ties with key allies like Japan, South Korea and the Philippines.

At the core of those contentions is that China does not want to see America exercise its military power in Asia – a region where the US it has deep, historic security ties and seeks to maintain open waterways and deter North Korean aggression, but where China is widely viewed as wanting to establish its dominance.

A deterioration of US-China military dialogue in recent years raised international concerns about those tensions leading to miscommunications that could veer toward conflict.

In their roughly 75 minute meeting, both Austin and Dong nodded to their interests in maintaining dialogue, while also pressing each other on key issues, according to statements from each sides.

Austin raised concerns about “recent provocative” Chinese military activity around the Taiwan Strait and