It is extremely unusual for the top defense officials of the United States and China to fail to hold talks at an important international security conference that both are attending.
This is particularly disturbing because the conference offers a great opportunity for defense chiefs of the attending nations to seek to build mutual trust through dialogue and other interactions.
We strongly urge the two leading powers, which are heavily responsible for maintaining the world order, to make all-out diplomatic efforts to prevent their confrontation from escalating further and avoid armed clashes between their militaries.
Japan, for its part, needs to play a more active role in promoting multilateral dialogue for regional stability and persuading the two military giants to improve their bitterly strained relationship.
This year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, known as Asia’s premier defense summit and organized by British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, was held recently in Singapore. The annual conference brings together defense ministers and experts in the Asia-Pacific region.
This event offers a valuable opportunity for top security policymakers to engage in honest and candid discussions rarely seen in official talks between governments to know more about each other’s views and thoughts as they hold bilateral and multilateral talks on the sidelines of the conference.
At last year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and then Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe held talks. It was the first face-to-face meeting between the two officials under the U.S. administration of President Joe Biden.
This year, Washington proposed a meeting between Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu, who took office in March, but Beijing declined the proposal, citing that Li, an army general, has been sanctioned by the United States. He has been under sanctions for engaging in weapons purchases from a Russian arms exporter.
In his speech at the conference, Austin said “conflict in the Taiwan Strait would be devastating” and pledged to keep deterrence strong to prevent such a disaster.
In his own address, Li voiced a stern warning to the United States, declaring, “If anyone dares to split Taiwan from China, the Chinese military will resolutely safeguard China’s national sovereignty and territorial integrity without any hesitation.”
The two countries should focus on efforts to ensure effective communication between themselves through talks even at a time when their relationship is in a poor state, instead of hurling stringent criticism at each other.
China should not refuse to talk with the United States, which, for its part, should do more to improve the diplomatic environment for constructive bilateral talks.
The defense chiefs of Japan and China, on the other hand, held talks in Singapore.
During the meeting, Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada expressed “concerns” about the security situations in the East and South China Seas, including Japan’s Senkaku Islands, which China claims, as well as about cooperative military operations of China and Russia in areas around Japan.
But Hamada stressed that these concerns make it all the more important for the Japanese and Chinese defense authorities to continue holding candid talks. Li reportedly voiced similar thoughts.
In May, Japan and China finally started operating a defense hotline between the two nations--a direct and special telephone line between the two countries’ top defense officials to prevent accidental clashes that had been a pending bilateral matter for years.
Tokyo and Beijing must build multilayered channels of security communications that work in any situation.
Another key topic at the conference in Singapore was how to respond to North Korea’s repeated missile launches. The defense chiefs of Japan, the United States and South Korea held talks and agreed to start operating a system for real-time sharing of information related to North Korea’s missiles by the end of the year.
The system is expected to improve the quality of missile alerts issued by the governments concerned.
To stop Pyongyang’s provocations, however, it is vital for China to take effective actions by using its influence over the secluded regime. This security challenge also will test the three nations’ diplomatic skills and efforts for getting Beijing involved.
--The Asahi Shimbun, June 5
EDITORIAL: U.S., China share responsibility to engage in serious security dialogue
92
0
06.06.2023
It is extremely unusual for the top defense officials of the United States and China to fail to hold talks at an important international security conference that both are attending.
This is particularly disturbing because the conference offers a great opportunity for defense chiefs of the attending nations to seek to build mutual trust through dialogue and other interactions.
We strongly urge the two leading powers, which are heavily responsible for maintaining the world order, to make all-out diplomatic efforts to prevent their confrontation from escalating further and avoid armed clashes between their militaries.
Japan, for its part, needs to play a more active role in promoting multilateral dialogue for regional stability and persuading the two military giants to improve their bitterly strained relationship.
This year’s Shangri-La Dialogue, known as Asia’s premier defense summit and organized by British think tank International Institute for Strategic Studies, was held recently in Singapore. The annual conference brings together defense ministers and experts in the Asia-Pacific........
© The Asahi Shimbun
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Andrew Mitrovica
Belen Fernandez
Marwan Bishara
Timotej Milanov
Tafi Mhaka
Ahmadi Ali
Grant Arthur Gochin
