US defence chief warns incidents with China’s military could ‘spiral out of control’

Financial Times | June 1, 2023

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US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has called on Beijing to resume bilateral security talks, warning that incidents could “spiral out of control” if China’s military continues to take provocative action in international waters and airspace. At a news conference in Tokyo, Austin said it was “unfortunate” that Beijing declined the Pentagon’s request for him to meet China’s defence minister Li Shangfu at a security forum in Singapore this week. “I’m concerned about . . . having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control,” Austin said following a meeting with his Japanese counterpart Yasukazu Hamada on Thursday. “I think defence departments should be talking to each other on a routine basis.”

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