As the US and China vie to establish new partnerships and expand influence with nations in the Asia-Pacific region, top defense officials from both countries are preparing to win support from their regional counterparts, diplomats and leaders at a security forum in Singapore this weekend.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, whose country is a stalwart US ally in the Pacific region, was to give the keynote address yesterday evening to open the dialogue at the Shangri-La Hotel hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Albanese, whose country has angered Beijing with its agreement with the UK and the US, known as AUKUS, to obtain nuclear-powered submarines to address a perceived rising threat from China, said that he would focus on Australia’s deepening engagement, as well as “shared opportunities and challenges” in the region.
Photo: Reuters
“We want a region that is stable, peaceful, resilient and prosperous,” he said when his speech was announced.
This year’s dialogue comes amid a wide range of issues, including the war in Ukraine and its regional implications, China’s support for Russia, the conflict in Myanmar, and growing tensions between China and the US over Beijing’s claims to Taiwan.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin would today give an opening speech on US “leadership in the Indo-Pacific,” the Pentagon said.
Chinese Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu (李尚福) would tomorrow lead with a speech on his country’s new security initiatives.
Austin began his trip to the region in Japan, where Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been one of the most outspoken leaders in Asia against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Kishida has ramped up Japan’s defense spending, and cautioned others at the Shangri-La forum last year that “Ukraine today may be East Asia tomorrow.”
China has refused to criticize Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and has blamed the US and NATO for provoking Moscow.
During a trip in April to Moscow, Li pledged to expand military cooperation, military-technical ties and the arms trade with Russia.
“We will certainly take them to a new level,” he said at the time.
On the sidelines of the conference in Singapore, Austin plans to meet with “key leaders to advance US defense partnerships across the region in support of our shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific anchored in ASEAN centrality,” the US Department of Defense said.
Following the conference, Austin would travel to New Delhi to meet with his Indian counterpart for talks on issues including expanding “operational cooperation between the US and Indian militaries,” it said.
Like the US, many of its allies have been increasing their focus on the Indo-Pacific region, and the conference brings together many top officials, including defense ministers from Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, Sweden, the UK and Ukraine.
EXPRESSING GRATITUDE: Without its Taiwanese partners which are ‘working around the clock,’ Nvidia could not meet AI demand, CEO Jensen Huang said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and US-based artificial intelligence (AI) chip designer Nvidia Corp have partnered with each other on silicon photonics development, Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said. Speaking with reporters after he met with TSMC chairman C.C. Wei (魏哲家) in Taipei on Friday, Huang said his company was working with the world’s largest contract chipmaker on silicon photonics, but admitted it was unlikely for the cooperation to yield results any time soon, and both sides would need several years to achieve concrete outcomes. To have a stake in the silicon photonics supply chain, TSMC and
IDENTITY: Compared with other platforms, TikTok’s algorithm pushes a ‘disproportionately high ratio’ of pro-China content, a study has found Young Taiwanese are increasingly consuming Chinese content on TikTok, which is changing their views on identity and making them less resistant toward China, researchers and politicians were cited as saying by foreign media. Asked to suggest the best survival strategy for a small country facing a powerful neighbor, students at National Chia-Yi Girls’ Senior High School said “Taiwan must do everything to avoid provoking China into attacking it,” the Financial Times wrote on Friday. Young Taiwanese between the ages of 20 and 24 in the past were the group who most strongly espoused a Taiwanese identity, but that is no longer
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake and several aftershocks battered southern Taiwan early this morning, causing houses and roads to collapse and leaving dozens injured and 50 people isolated in their village. A total of 26 people were reported injured and sent to hospitals due to the earthquake as of late this morning, according to the latest Ministry of Health and Welfare figures. In Sising Village (西興) of Chiayi County's Dapu Township (大埔), the location of the quake's epicenter, severe damage was seen and roads entering the village were blocked, isolating about 50 villagers. Another eight people who were originally trapped inside buildings in Tainan
SHARED VALUES: The US, Taiwan and other allies hope to maintain the cross-strait ‘status quo’ to foster regional prosperity and growth, the former US vice president said Former US vice president Mike Pence yesterday vowed to continue to support US-Taiwan relations, and to defend the security and interests of both countries and the free world. At a meeting with President William Lai (賴清德) at the Presidential Office in Taipei, Pence said that the US and Taiwan enjoy strong and continued friendship based on the shared values of freedom, the rule of law and respect for human rights. Such foundations exceed limitations imposed by geography and culture, said Pence, who is visiting Taiwan for the first time. The US and Taiwan have shared interests, and Americans are increasingly concerned about China’s
RSS