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Shangri-La Dialogue: why the US and Chinese defence ministers should meet – and what stands in their way
- China’s defence chief will attend the Singapore security conference – as will his US counterpart
- US sanctions on Li Shangfu stand in the way but the implications of not talking are too high to ignore
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One of the most important security conferences on the international calendar gets under way for the 20th time in Singapore on June 2, bringing together defence ministers, military personnel and policy watchers. In the first of a three-part series, Minnie Chan examines the prospects of engagement between the defence ministers of the world’s two most powerful militaries: China and the United States.
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When the Shangri-La Dialogue gets under way in Singapore on Friday it will bring a much needed opportunity for the military top brass of both China and the US to shake hands and add some personal warmth to their frosty relations.
But that opportunity – or even just a chance encounter in the corridors of the plush Shangri-La Hotel – could be lost as the two sides still fail to see eye to eye on almost every issue in their strained relationship.
As they face off in the Pacific and the South China Sea, the US defends its actions as “freedom of navigation operations”, while China insists that it will not budge on its territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The two countries are also exchanging heated military signals around Taiwan, with the US ramping up its military support despite Beijing’s repeated warnings, and the People’s Liberation Army inching ever closer to the island in its drills.
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Any meeting in Singapore is likely to be tense but observers say the stakes of the superpowers not talking to each other in the new cold war era are grave.
04:17
China’s military simulates precision strikes on Taiwan after island’s leader returns from US visit
China’s military simulates precision strikes on Taiwan after island’s leader returns from US visit
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