On Thursday, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said it was “unfortunate” his Chinese counterpart had declined to meet him at a security gathering because they needed to communicate to prevent military aircraft collisions.

ON TUESDAY, the U.S. accused a Chinese fighter jet of an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver near a U.S. plane over the South China Sea.

“I think that is unfortunate,” Austin said at a Tokyo press conference about Chinese Minister of National Defence Li Shangfu’s choice not to see him at a conference they will both attend in Singapore this weekend.
I want to talk to Li. Defense departments should communicate often or have open channels.

Austin stopped in Tokyo on his way to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security meeting in Singapore, which begins Friday.

After meeting with Japanese Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada, Austin expressed concern that an incident like Tuesday’s between U.S. and Chinese aircraft “could quickly spiral out of control.”
“The provocative intercept of our and our allies’ aircraft is very concerning and we would hope they would alter their actions,” he said.

I will meet Hamada at the Singapore meeting.

Japan and China established a “hotline” to ease military tensions in March.

Since 2018, Li has been under U.S. sanctions for buying military aircraft and equipment from Rosoboronexport, Russia’s major arms exporter.

Austin and Hamada discussed North Korea’s Wednesday missile launch, China-Russia tensions, and Russia’s attack on Ukraine in Tokyo.

“North Korea’s dangerous and destabilising nuclear and missile programs threaten peace and stability in the region,” Austin warned.

North Korea’s attempt to launch a military satellite prompted emergency alerts in Japan and South Korea, with inhabitants advised to seek cover.

The PRC’s coercion and attempts to undermine the rules-based order worry us. Austin added, “While Russia continues its cruel unprovoked war of choice against Ukraine,” using China’s official name.

Hamada said the two had agreed to strengthen security cooperation between their defense industries and work with South Korea, Australia, and other nations to combat North Korea and other dangers.

“Based on the complex security environment, we confirmed the importance of cooperation not only between Japan and the United States, but also with the Republic of Korea, Australia and ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asia Nations) countries,” Hamada said at the press conference.