U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin attends the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore June 1, 2024.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Defence Secretary Lloyd J. Austin on June 1 said the U.S.-India ties are based on a common vision and common values and the momentum in the relationship is not only going to continue but will pick up speed.

Mr. Austin’s remarks came as he responded to a delegate’s question at the Shangri La Dialogue about bilateral ties.

Held annually in Singapore, the Shangri La Dialogue Dialogue is Asia’s premier defence summit.

“The relationship we enjoy right now with India is as good as or better than our relationship that it has ever been,” he told delegates.

“We are co-producing armoured vehicles with India,” he said, adding that good progress has been made on the project.

The U.S.-India relations are based on a common vision and common values. “So, I believe the momentum that we see is not only going to continue but, at a point, it will pick up speed.” In his address on the Indo-Pacific region, Mr. Austin said: “Together with our friends in the region, we are breaking down national barriers and better integrating our defence industry.” America will continue to play a vital role in the Indo-Pacific, he assured.

The Indo-Pacific is a biogeographic region, comprising the Indian Ocean and the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the South China Sea. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam claim parts of it.

The U.S., India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military assertiveness in the resource-rich region.

Mr. Austin also informed delegates that the U.S. defence industry is being integrated with those of the regional countries, including Japan.

“Together we are investing in capabilities that promote lasting security and stability. And together we are ensuring that the Indo Pacific will remain secure.” He underlined why the U.S. was maintaining a presence in the region and will continue to make investments necessary with its commitment to allies and partners.

“We consistently link our investments to our strategy … the United States has devoted a historic amount of resources towards maintaining the Indo-Pacific.

“The United States can be secure only if Asia is and that’s why the United States has long maintained its presence in this region,” he stressed.

US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin leaves a meeting at the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore on May 31, 2024, as part of his attendance at the 21st Shangri-La Dialogue summit.
| Photo Credit: AFP

The U.S. and Chinese defence chiefs held rare direct talks in Singapore on May 31, offering hopes for more military dialogue that could help prevent disputes over Taiwan and other flashpoint issues from spinning out of control.

The meeting between the United States’ Lloyd Austin and China’s Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue is the first substantive face-to-face talks between the two countries’ defence chiefs in 18 months.

Mr. Dong and Mr. Austin began the talks shortly before 1:00 p.m. (local time) at the luxury hotel hosting the security forum, a member of the US delegation told reporters.

Defence chiefs and officials from around the world are attending the annual forum that has in recent years become a barometer of US-China relations.

This year’s edition comes a week after China held military drills around Taiwan and warned of war over the US-backed island following the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te, who Beijing has described as a “dangerous separatist”.

The dispute over democratic Taiwan, which Beijing considers part of its territory, tops the list of disputes between the rivals.

Restoring military-to-military dialogue

Beijing is also furious over Washington’s deepening defence ties in the Asia-Pacific, particularly with the Philippines, and its regular deployment of warships and fighter jets in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea.

China views this as part of a decades-long US effort to contain it.

President Joe Biden’s administration and China have been stepping up communication to ease friction between the nuclear-armed rivals, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month. A key focus has been the resumption of military-to-military dialogue.

China scrapped military communications with the United States in 2022 in response to then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing were stoked further during 2023 by issues including an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace, a meeting between Taiwan’s then-president Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi’s successor Kevin McCarthy, and American military aid for Taipei.

The two sides agreed after a summit between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Biden in November last year to restart high-level military talks.

That includes a communications channel between the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief and Chinese commanders responsible for military operations near Taiwan, Japan and in the South China Sea.

Chinese and American forces have had a series of close encounters in the disputed waterway that China claims almost entirely.

Mr. Austin warned before Mr. Biden and Mr. Xi agreed to resume military-to-military dialogue that accidents have the potential to spiral out of control, especially in the absence of open lines of communication between American and Chinese forces.

Friday’s meeting between Mr. Austin and Mr. Dong follows a phone call between the pair in April, and offers hope of further military talks to cool tensions. The two leaders will give speeches this weekend at the Shangri-La Dialogue in which they are expected to touch on a range of their nations’ pressure points.

Pressure points

The U.S., increasingly worried about China’s fast-developing military capabilities, has been strengthening its alliances and partnerships in the region to counter China’s growing assertiveness over Taiwan and in the South China Sea.

In a post on X early on Friday announcing his arrival in Singapore, Mr. Austin said he would meet with regional counterparts and continue his department’s work with “like-minded Indo-Pacific partners to promote our shared vision for a free and open region”.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos, who has sought to deepen defence cooperation with the United States as he stands up to Chinese actions in waters off the Southeast Asia country, will deliver the Shangri-La Dialogue’s keynote speech on Friday.

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