The high-level Asia security summit opened with intensifying competition between the United States and China set to dominate the weekend’s high-stakes speeches, behind-the-scenes military affairs and delicate diplomacy .
The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts senior military officers, diplomats, arms manufacturers and security analysts from around the world, runs from Friday to Sunday in Singapore.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will deliver a keynote address on Friday evening while US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s new Defense Minister Li Shangfu are expected to trade barbs in speeches this weekend.
Relations between the United States and China are at their lowest level in decades as the two superpowers remain divided on everything from Taiwan sovereignty to cyber espionage and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Hopes that the Singapore summit could be an opportunity to improve relations between Washington and Beijing were dashed last week when Li turned down an offer to meet with Austin.
Li, who was named China’s defense minister in March, was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 for his arms purchases from Russia.
There was a brief moment of Sino-US dialogue at the summit during a parallel session on cybersecurity.
US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said, “We need to talk to China,” after being asked by Chinese Col. Zhu Qichao about collaboration on artificial intelligence cybersecurity risks.
Aaron Connelly, senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said the Chinese and US defense ministers would not speak to each other at this year’s event, which was unusual.
“It’s usually the only occasion in a year where US and Chinese ministers talk to each other, but that hasn’t happened this year,” he told Drberita at the Singapore summit.
“The United States wants this conversation at a strategic and tactical level … to try to defuse incidents and control tensions,” he said. “The Chinese side seems to see the problem at the political level. They don’t see the United States looking for a good modus vivendi with China, and they think without that there’s no need for these low-level conversations.”
Australia-China relations
The Albanian’s speech comes as Australia seeks to stabilize relations with China after a three-year diplomatic and trade bloc freeze that is now being eased by Beijing.
China buys most of Australia’s iron ore and is its biggest trading partner.
The United States is Australia’s biggest security ally and Beijing has criticized a deal announced in March to buy US nuclear submarines.
Australia will spend 368 billion Australian dollars ($250 billion) over three decades on the submarine program, part of a broader security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom known as the AUKUS name.
Australia is also part of the Five Eyes intelligence-gathering and sharing network with the US, UK, Canada and New Zealand – a group that Chinese officials say is part of the ” West’s lingering cold war mentality and is trying to contain its rise.
Since its election in May 2022, the Albanian Labor government has forged closer ties with the 10 countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Australia’s defense chief says as great power competition in the region continues, his country is focused on preventing conflict and deepening engagement with partners, including Pacific islands and Southeast Asian countries.
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