Singapore ¨C With the number of dangerously close U.S.-China military encounters on the rise, U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has slammed his Chinese counterpart¡¯s unwillingness to meet and discuss improving crisis management mechanisms between the two powers¡¯ militaries.
¡°I am deeply concerned that the PRC (People¡¯s Republic of China) has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms,¡± Austin said in a speech Saturday at the Shangri-La Dialogue regional security conference in Singapore.
¡°For responsible defense leaders, the right time to talk is anytime, the right time to talk is every time, and the right time to talk is now,¡± the U.S. defense chief stressed, arguing that dialogue is ¡°not a reward, it is a necessity.¡±
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