Pentagon chief says Chinese counterpart’s refusal to meet is unfortunate

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Thursday that Chinese Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu’s refusal to meet is “unfortunate” as the two head to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit in Singapore.

“I would welcome any opportunity to engage with leadership. I think defense departments should be talking to each other on a routine basis or should have open channels for communication,” Austin said in Tokyo, referring to his Chinese counterpart’s decision not to meet him at the summit, which they will both be attending this weekend, as reported by Reuters.

The Pentagon leader met with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada, who will also be at the summit, on his way to Singapore. He highlighted China’s recent moves to assert its military presence in the region and said “the provocative intercepts of our aircraft and also our allies’ aircraft, that’s very concerning.” 

Earlier this week, the U.S. military said a Chinese fighter jet had flown aggressively close to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.

“I’m concerned about at some point having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control,” Austin said. 

The Associated Press contributed.