All hope of fresh talks snuffed out as American and Chinese delegations return to their well-worn differences.
Top Chinese and US defence officials may have shaken hands but they were soon back bristling over Taiwan and the South China Sea at a major security conference in Singapore on Saturday. Beijing and Washington seemed as far apart as ever as US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin renewed his country’s commitment to defend the Taiwan Strait against “bullying and coercion” while a senior Chinese official accused Austin of making “false accusations”. The terse exchanges at the Shangri-La Dialogue all but eliminated any hopes of a meeting between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu , who had bilateral talks with his counterparts from Malaysia, Germany, Britain, Australia, Japan and South Korea on the sidelines of the forum. Austin’s speech to the conference covered the biggest frictions in the military relationship between the two countries, and stressed US determination to work with Asian allies to deter aggression and prevent conflict. “So we’re stepping up planning and coordination, and training with our friends, from the East China Sea to the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean,” Austin said. “That includes staunch allies such as Australia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Philippines and Thailand.” He also said the US network of friendly countries in Asia would defend against coercion, especially in the Taiwan Strait. The comments prompted Lieutenant General Jing Jianfeng, vice chief of the Central Military Commission’s Joint Staff Department, to accuse the US of “hollowing out the one-China principle” by strengthening exchanges between US and Taiwanese officials, condoning Taiwanese separatist activities and selling lethal weapons to Taiwan. “There’s only one China in the world, and Taiwan is a sacred and inalienable part of Chinese territory,” Jing said, stressing the one-China principle “represents the consensus of the international community”. However, other countries have their own Taiwan policies, which do not entirely align with Beijing’s. Most countries, including the United States, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state.
