US Says Talks With China 'essential' To Curb Chance Of Conflict

Singapore, June 3 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 3rd Jun, 2023 ) :Dialogue between the United States and China is "essential" to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday.

Austin and Li Shangfu shook hands and spoke briefly for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore on Friday, but the interaction fell short of the Pentagon's hopes for a more substantive exchange.

The US defence chief is on a tour of Asia that previously took him to Japan and will also include a visit to India.

"The United States believes that open lines of communication with the People's Republic of China are essential -- especially between our defence and military leaders," Austin told the summit.

"The more that we talk, the more that we can avoid the misunderstandings and miscalculations that could lead to crisis or conflict." The Chinese delegation swiftly responded to Austin's speech, with Senior Colonel Tang Hefei, spokesperson for China's defence ministry, saying that the Pentagon chief "made several false accusations" in his remarks.

"We oppose that," Tang told reporters in Singapore.

Another Chinese delegation member, Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo, said Washington had no business telling China what to do.

"What we do in the Chinese military is based on maintaining the core interests of China's security, which is fundamental," he told reporters.