Global defense leaders descending on Singapore this weekend confronted conflicting visions of the region: the U.S. touted expanding military exercises and partnerships across the Indo-Pacific, while China criticized \u201coutside forces\u201d for interfering with peace and stability. <\/p>\n
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin addressed the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday and name-checked nearly every country as U.S. partners or allies. He praised recent joint drills with Indonesia and the Philippines, improved coordination with Japan, India, South Korea and Australia, and strengthened ties with Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe are witnessing a new convergence around nearly all aspects of security in the Indo-Pacific,\u201d Austin said. \u201cIt isn\u2019t about bullying or coercion \u2014 it\u2019s about the free choices of sovereign states.\u201d<\/p>\n
China didn\u2019t see it that way. Its delegation quickly pushed back on the American narrative. Officials from Beijing ramped up their public outreach at the annual forum with a series of news conferences, speeches and high-profile interjections to blast U.S. support for Taiwan, warn against the development of an Asian NATO, and accuse Washington of instituting a \u201ctechnology blockade\u201d against Beijing. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey keep testing China\u2019s red lines,\u201d new Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun said in his keynote address on Sunday. He warned that the U.S. was pursuing a \u201csalami-slicing strategy\u201d by pushing through Taiwan-related legislation, continuing arm sales to the self-governed island, and having \u201cillegal\u201d official contact with Taipei.<\/p>\n
Chinese officials acknowledged they were taking a more public approach. Some regional analysts interpreted that as an effort to counter the concerns about a potential conflict caused by recent clashes with the Philippines in the South China Sea and deployments of military aircraft and ships around Taiwan.<\/p>\n
The accumulation of defiant words \u201chave China on the rattled rhetorical defensive,\u201d said Rory Medcalf, the head of the National Security College at the Australian National University. <\/p>\n
The three-day event opened with a dramatic display of the simmering tensions on Friday, when Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. delivered a dinner speech blasting Beijing\u2019s policies in the South China Sea as Dong looked on from a front-row table. \u201cFilipinos do not yield,\u201d he said from the podium. <\/p>\n
Soon after, the Chinese delegation fired back. Major General Xu Hui, president of the International College of Defense Studies at China\u2019s National Defense University, stood up in the question-and-answer session to accuse the Philippine leader of \u201cruining\u201d regional peace and steering Asia toward war. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no such thing as a regional issue any longer,\u201d Marcos responded, calling the crisis in the waterway a global concern.<\/p>\n
The Chinese delegation wasn\u2019t done: they called a 10:30 p.m. news conference to rebut charges that the country bullies others. <\/p>\n
That confrontation was just one of a series of tense moments during the gathering in which the U.S. and China had initially sought to smooth over past disagreements. In a shift from last year\u2019s event, when the two nations\u2019 defense ministers shook hands but never sat down to talk, Austin and Dong met for 75 minutes on Friday. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s clearly more stability in the relationship than maybe a year ago,\u201d said Cui Tiankai, a former Chinese ambassador to Washington who maintains close ties with the leadership in Beijing. \u201cThings are going in the right direction, but very slowly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Austin\u2019s address on Saturday was muted in its direct criticisms of China, but it prompted a question from Cao Yanzhong, a research fellow at China\u2019s Academy of Military Sciences. Cao asked whether the U.S. is seeking to establish a NATO-like presence in the region, saying the alliance\u2019s expansion was a root cause of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Austin told the delegate that the war was a result of Russian aggression and President Vladimir Putin\u2019s belief he could \u201croll over\u201d his neighbor.<\/p>\n
Dong\u2019s speech on Sunday was more direct, knocking the U.S. for \u201chollowing out\u201d Beijing\u2019s One-China policy on Taiwan and \u201cmisleading\u201d nations in the South China Sea. <\/p>\n
China\u2019s delegation suggested it would be doing more to make its case about regional hotspots. <\/p>\n
\u201cThis shows how our People\u2019s Liberation Army delegation is open, transparent, more confident to interact with the world,\u201d said Senior Colonel Zhu Qichao, a deputy director at the National University of Defense Technology. <\/p>\n
China isn\u2019t alone in upping its public relations game. The Philippines has recorded and distributed footage of its own conflicts with China, including multiple episodes where Chinese ships have used water cannons and lasers on Philippines vessels attempting to travel near disputed islands and reefs. <\/p>\n
China was less outspoken when it came to the rare visit to Asia by Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid a renewed Russian offensive in his country\u2019s northeast. The Ukrainian leader sought to rally support for his forthcoming summit in Switzerland, but also accused Beijing of seeking to undermine the gathering by pressing other countries not to attend. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe need the support of Asian countries,\u201d Zelenskyy said. \u201cIt is much needed.\u201d<\/p>\n
China has refused to participate on the grounds of impartiality, saying Russia should have been invited to Ukraine\u2019s event. Beijing is instead joining Brazil in calling for a conference recognized by both Russia and Ukraine. <\/p>\n
Heading into the final day of the conference, Singapore\u2019s defense minister \u2014 who characterized the lack of U.S.-China talks at last year\u2019s forum a major disappointment \u2014 praised Beijing\u2019s efforts to communicate and said the resumption of talks by both sides was good news.<\/p>\n
\u201cChina has learned that they can put up their voice,\u201d Ng Eng Hen told reporters. \u201cThat\u2019s how it should be. What\u2019s the alternative? If words don\u2019t fly, bullets do.\u201d<\/p>\n
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(With assistance from Andreo Calonzo and Alfred Cang.)<\/p>\n
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