WASHINGTON: China has declined a United States invitation to hold a meeting in Singapore between US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, the Pentagon claimed Monday.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement that overnight, Beijing informed Washington that China has declined the US early May invitation for Austin to meet with China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu in Singapore in the current week.
China Declines Meeting with Pentagon Chief: US Official
Ryder said that China’s concerning unwillingness to participate in meaningful army-to-army discussions will not reduce their (US) resolve to seeking open lines of communication with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA),”
A top US defense official termed the declined invitation as an “excuse,” adding that since 2021, Beijing has “refused or failed to reply to over several requests from the US Defense Department for key leader interactions, numerous requests for standing talks, and about 10 working-level interactions.”
China’s Defense Minister Li Shangfu was sanctioned by Washington in 2018 for buying Russian arms, but the US Defense Department says that does not prevent the Pentagon chief from doing official business with his Chinese counterpart.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is due to visit Singapore this week to participate the Shangri-La Dialogue, where he met the former Chinese Defense Minister last June.
Tensions between the US and Washington soared over issues including Taiwan and a suspect Chinese balloon that was shot down by US.
According to AFP, US officials and Austin have been working to shore up alliances in Asia as part of efforts to contain China, but there have also been signs that the two countries were working to lower the tensions.
US Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met China’s top diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna this month, and US President Joe Biden said that relations between US and China should melt “very shortly,” quoting the suspect balloon incident as a reason that had increased tensions.
