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Sino-US ties take spotlight at Asian security forum
SINGAPORE, May 31, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – China and US defence chiefs will square
off over territory, trade tensions and high-tech rivalry during informal
talks on the sidelines of a security forum in Singapore this weekend.
Beijing is sending its defence minister for the first time since 2011 to
the so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, which is also attended by acting US
Defence Secretary Patrick Shanahan and a host of top military officials from
around the world.
Both countries have been vying for influence in the region, which hosts
potential military flashpoints such as the South China Sea, Korean Peninsula
and the Taiwan Strait — as well as among its fastest-growing economies.
The US and China are also embroiled in tit-for-tat trade war, kicked off by
President Donald Trump raising tariffs against Chinese goods last year.
Shanahan will meet his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, late Friday
to discuss areas where the nations might cooperate, according to officials.
Washington has been pushing back against Beijing’s militarisation of the
South China Sea.
A top US top general said earlier this week that Chinese President Xi
Jinping had reneged on promises by building “10,000-foot runways, ammunition
storage facilities, routine deployment of missile defense capabilities,
aviation capabilities” on reclaimed land.
“So clearly they have walked away from that commitment,” said General
Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Wei’s attendance at the Shangri-La Dialogue — an annual gathering of
global defence officials organised by the International Institute for
Strategic Studies think-tank — is being taken as a sign that China is not
backing away from the dispute.
“The Chinese want to be here to say their side of the story,” Shawn Ho,
associate research fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International
Studies in Singapore told AFP.
“Definitively, we are seeing more competition between the US and China in
various fields — not just traditional fields, but also in technology.
“The US and China are seemingly competing in more fields nowadays and I
think this is something that we have to watch very carefully.”
Shanahan said he wanted to identify areas where the countries could
cooperate.
“We’ll probably talk about things I think are important for us to be
transparent and candid about,” he told reporters Thursday, as he flew into
Singapore from Indonesia.
Shanahan is expected to flesh out Washington’s strategy in the Pacific
region, where both the US and China are vying for influence, during a talk on
Saturday.
Wei will address the conference on Sunday, with a source from his
delegation saying the speech will outline China’s role in global security and
US-China ties — as well as addressing the territorial disputes in the South
China Sea.
“The ‘China threat’ is a non-existent issue. We are here to correct that
misconception,” added the source, who did not want to be named.
Beijing’s defence policy remains defensive, they said.
“We will not cede even a single inch of Chinese territory. Similarly, we
have never sought, and will never want any territory belonging to others,”
the source added.
BSS/AFP/RY/1558 hrs