JUST IN: China declines meeting with US defence chief – Pentagon

China has declined a US invitation for a meeting in Singapore between Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, according to the Pentagon.

“Overnight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder said in a statement on Monday, referring to the country by the initials of its official name, the People’s Republic of China.

“The PRC’s concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions will not diminish [the defence department’s] commitment to seeking open lines of communication with the People’s Liberation Army,” Ryder added.

Last week, White House spokesman John Kirby said there were discussions under way to initiate talks between Austin and his Chinese counterpart, who was named defence minister in March.

The prospect of a meeting between them was being closely watched given heightened tensions in the region and the increasingly prickly relationship between Washington and Beijing over issues from Taiwan to trade and human rights.

Singapore-based security analyst Ian Storey said China’s decision did not bode well.

“At a time of rising US-China tensions, General Li’s refusal to meet his American counterpart will fray regional nerves even further,” Storey told the Reuters news agency.

Austin and Li will both be in Singapore for the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security summit which is due to start on Friday. He met Li’s predecessor Wei Fenghe on the sidelines of the event last year.

Chinese officials have yet to confirm the decision, but tensions have soared this year especially over an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by a US warplane after crossing into US airspace.

Li has also been subject to US sanctions since 2018 over the purchase of combat aircraft and equipment from Russia’s main arms exporter, Rosoboronexport.

Li, who is due to arrive in Singapore on Wednesday, also sits on the Central Military Commission, China’s top defence body that is led by President Xi Jinping.

Citing the defence ministry, China’s state media said he would deliver a speech on China’s new security initiative and hold some bilateral meetings with “relevant” countries.

Austin is travelling first to Japan where he will hold talks with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada before visiting US troops stationed in the country.

He will then fly to Singapore where he will address the summit on Saturday morning, and “meet with key leaders to advance US defence partnerships across the region in support of our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, anchored in ASEAN centrality,” according to the Pentagon, referring to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an economic and political coalition of 10 member states in Southeast Asia.

After Singapore, Austin will travel to India and then to France where he will join events commemorating the 79th anniversary of D-Day.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIES