SINGAPORE, June 9 (Reuters) – The United States and China are expected to use Asia’s highest security summit this week to exchange blows on everything from Taiwan’s sovereignty to the war in Ukraine, although both countries have shown willingness to discuss the management of differences.
The Shangri-La dialogue, which attracts senior military officials, diplomats and arms manufacturers from around the world, will take place on June 10-12 in Singapore, for the first time since the event took place in 2019, after postponed twice due to COVID-19.
The President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky will speak at the meeting in a virtual session, organizers said.
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On the sidelines of the summit, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chinese Secretary of National Defense General Wei Fenghe are expected to hold their first face-to-face meeting since President Joe Biden took office.
“We expect, from our point of view, the essence of this meeting to be focused on managing competition on regional and global issues,” said a senior US official.
Chinese media also reported that Beijing would use the meeting to discuss co-operation with the United States.
Austin and Way are likely to use speeches over the weekend to reaffirm their commitment to the Asia-Pacific region, while making some sharp remarks in the direction of the other.
Relations between China and the United States have been strained in recent months, with the world’s two largest economies clashing over everything from China’s war against Taiwan, its military activities in the South China Sea and Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence in the Pacific.
“The key issue this year will inevitably be US-China competition,” said Maya Nowens, a senior fellow in China’s defense policy and military modernization at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, the think tank that is organizing the event.
“There is a new sense of urgency regarding the ongoing modernization of the People’s Liberation Army and the persistence we have seen from China over the past two years.”
Although the summit focuses on Asian security issues, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will remain central to discussions. The conflict, which killed tens of thousands, uprooted millions and turned cities into ruins, entered its 100th day last week.
Ukraine will send a delegation to the meeting, but the Russians will not be present, according to a source familiar with the list.
“US participants will use the occasion to criticize China’s strategic partnership with Russia,” said Li Mingjiang, an associate professor at the School of International Studies. Rajaratnam ”in Singapore.
“We will see some conclusions about the China-Russia partnership as a coalition of autocracies … China will defend its relations with Russia, its position and its policy in response to Ukraine.
‘GO OUT TO SWING’
As US military and political capital is engulfed in the war in Ukraine, Austin will come under pressure to convince China’s rivals in Asia that they can count on Washington.
“They say China is this huge threat and they even say it is a sharp threat. Still, much of the focus and resources seem to be focused on Europe, “said Elbridge Colby, a former Pentagon official. “It’s not about words, it’s about walking.”
Bilateral talks between the United States and China, as well as much of the conference, are likely to focus on Taiwan.
China, which claims to be a democratic Taiwan as its own territory, has stepped up military activity near the island in the past two years, in response to what it calls a “conspiracy” between Taipei and Washington.
“The United States will come out looking specifically at Taiwan, but also at China’s growing confidence in the Indo-Pacific,” said Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation, a think tank.
Biden said this month that the United States would intervene militarily if China attacked Taiwan, although the administration has since clarified that US policy on the issue has not changed and Washington does not support Taiwan’s independence.
Washington has a long-standing policy of strategic uncertainty over whether to defend Taiwan militarily.
The Pacific Islands have also emerged as a key front in Washington’s strategic competition with China.
Biden’s special envoy is due to visit the Marshall Islands next week amid growing US concerns about China’s efforts to expand its influence in the region. Last week, a virtual meeting of 10 Pacific foreign ministers, hosted by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Fiji, agreed to postpone consideration of a Chinese proposal for a comprehensive trade and security pact. Read more
The Shangri-La dialogue is also threatened by a growing military threat from North Korea, which has conducted at least 18 rounds of weapons tests this year, highlighting developing nuclear and missile arsenals.
Officials from South Korea, the United States and Japan said Wednesday that North Korea’s recent missile tests were “serious, illegal” provocations. Read more
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will open the conference on Friday with a keynote speech in which he is expected to call for a peaceful settlement of disputes in the Asia-Pacific region.
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Reporting by Idris Ali and Chen Lin; writing by Joe Brock; Edited by Raju Gopalakrishnan
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