China declines invitation to meet US Defence Secretary Austin: Pentagon

The Pentagon said on Monday (May 29) that China has declined an invitation for a meeting between US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu. The proposal was for the meeting to take place in Singapore.

"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, referring to the People's Republic of China.

"The PRC's concerning unwillingness to engage in meaningful military-to-military discussions will not diminish (the Defense Department's) commitment to seeking open lines of communication with the People's Liberation Army," Ryder said.

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AFP quoted an unnamed senior US defence official who described the declined invitation as "just the latest in a litany of excuses."

The official reportedly said that since 2021, China has "declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from the Department of Defence for key leader engagements, multiple requests for standing dialogues, and nearly ten working-level engagements."

The US government had sanctioned Li Shangfu in 2018 over China's purchase of Russian weapons. However, Pentagon says that sanctions do not prevent Austin from conducting official business with him.

Austin will travel to Singapore later this week to attend Shangri-La dialogue, a defence summit. Austin had met Li's predecessor Wei Fenghe at the summit last June.

Austin and Wei met again in Cambodia later in 2022, but tensions between Washington and Beijing soared this year over issues including Taiwan and an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by a US warplane after traversing the country.

Race for alliances

US officials including Austin have been working to strengthen and forge new alliances and partnerships in Asia in order to counter increasingly assertive moves by China. However, there are also signs that both sides are attempting to lessen the strain in relations.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan met top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi in Vienna earlier this month, and President Joe Biden recently said ties between Washington and Beijing should thaw "very shortly," citing the spy balloon incident as a factor that had boosted tensions.

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China and the US are also competing to gain influence among Pacific island nations. China has made forays into what was previously considered the backyard of Australia and New Zealand. Alarmed by China's political will to forge new alliances, US has lately shown readiness to build ties with Pacific island nations.

(With inputs from agencies)

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