US defence chief tells China talks essential to avoid crisis

SINGAPORE - United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said on Saturday he was deeply concerned by China's unwillingness to engage on military crisis management, warning that talks are key to avoiding conflict.

"I am deeply concerned that the PRC has been unwilling to engage more seriously on better mechanisms for crisis management between our two militaries," Austin told the meeting in Singapore. On Friday, the two shook hands on the sidelines of the conference but did not hold detailed talks, the Pentagon said.Dialogue between the two countries has stalled since US Secretary of State Antony Blinken cancelled a visit to China in February after a suspected Chinese spy balloon was tracked flying across the United States.

China will have bilateral talks with defence chiefs from a dozen countries at the summit, Lieutenant General He Lei, former vice president of the Academy of Military Sciences, said in comments published by state-backed Chinese newspaper the Global Times on Saturday.One of the thorniest security issues between the two superpowers is over the future of Taiwan, a democratically governed territory which Beijing wants to bring under its rule.

Chinese Senior Colonel Zhao Xiaozhuo told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that Austin's comments risk creating confrontation in the Asia-Pacific region, including over Taiwan."It wants instability in Taiwan so that it can bring its soldiers to Taiwan, and earn money from selling military weapons to Taiwan," said Zhao, a researcher at China's Academy of Military Sciences.

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