US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin called on Beijing to resume bilateral security talks and warned that the situation could “spin out of control” if the Chinese military continued its provocative actions in international waters and airspace.
At a news conference in Tokyo, Austin said it was “regrettable” that Beijing had rejected a Pentagon request for him to meet with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at a security forum in Singapore this week.
“I’m worried . . . what happened could get out of hand very, very quickly,” Austin said after meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichi Hamada on Thursday. “I think the Department of Defense should talk to each other on a regular basis. “
The warning comes as Austin prepares to attend the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore, where the issue of the dangerous exercise is likely to be a topic of discussion. The Pentagon on Tuesday accused a Chinese fighter jet of making “unnecessarily aggressive maneuvers” as it approached a U.S. military aircraft over the South China Sea last week.
A year ago before the same forum, the United States expressed concern about the growing number of incidents of Chinese planes allegedly conducting dangerous maneuvers near US, Canadian and Australian aircraft. When Austin met with then-China Defense Minister Wei Fenghe, U.S. officials raised the issue with their counterparts.
“We are deeply concerned about China’s (People’s Republic of China) coercive behavior and its attempts to undermine the rules-based international order,” Austin said.
U.S. defense officials have warned that amid heightened geopolitical tensions, a lack of engagement between militaries means they have no crisis communication mechanism in the event of an incident at sea or in the air. In 2001, a U.S. spy plane collided with a Chinese fighter jet off Hainan Island, forcing the U.S. plane to make an emergency landing.
Hamada also stressed the importance of maintaining dialogue with China, according to a defense ministry official, noting that a defense hotline between Tokyo and Beijing began operating last month to minimize the risk of accidental confrontation between the two militaries.
Beijing has denied Austin and Li a meeting at this year’s Shangri-La Dialogue because the United States has not lifted sanctions on its top defense official.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Li in 2018 over China’s purchase of Russian warplanes and missiles. The Pentagon had previously informed Beijing that the sanctions did not prohibit the meeting in Singapore, but Chinese officials said that was inappropriate while the sanctions remained in place.
The U.S. and Japan also discussed cooperation on developing a hypersonic missile defense capability using interceptors and enhancing cybersecurity, intelligence and surveillance using drones on Thursday. The two countries will also collaborate on defense supply chains to deepen ties between the two countries’ industrial bases, Austin said.
A day after North Korea failed to launch a reconnaissance satellite into space, Hamada said the two sides agreed to strengthen training and other cooperation with allies such as South Korea and Australia.