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.
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