US, Chinese defense chiefs to meet following Taiwan tensions

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, the Pentagon said on Friday, after Beijing conducted war drills around Taiwan as a gesture to the new leader of the US-backed democracy.

The Pentagon said Austin will meet with Chinese Admiral Dong Jun when they participate in the Shangri-La Dialogue from May 31 to June 2, an annual gathering of defense officials from around the world.

In recent days, China has surrounded Taiwan with warships and fighter jets to test its ability to seize the island, which it claims. The exercises follow the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te, who pledged to safeguard Taiwan’s self-governing democracy.

Austin’s meeting with Dong had been widely anticipated since Austin spoke with Dong by telephone in April, in what were the first substantive discussions between the two powers’ defense chiefs in nearly 18 years. month.

President Joe Biden’s administration and China have stepped up communications to ease friction, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month.

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But defense negotiations had lagged until Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a resumption of military dialogue at a summit with Biden in California in November.

Austin will also travel to Cambodia next week for talks with defense ministers from the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN and will end his trip in France, where he will join President Joe Biden for commemorations of the day’s 80th anniversary. J.

The trip was announced even though Austin plans to temporarily hand over duties to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, due to her latest medical procedure.

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Austin, a key figure in Western efforts to support Ukraine against a Russian offensive, “will undergo a scheduled, elective, minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure related to his previously reported bladder problem,” the spokesperson said. – Pentagon spokesperson, General Pat Ryder. .

He will be “temporarily unable to perform his functions and duties,” with Hicks briefly serving as acting secretary of defense, Ryder said.

The transparency follows a furore when Austin disappeared from public view for cancer treatment in December and again in January when he suffered complications.

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A retired general, Austin, 70, who shuns the spotlight, later said he was a “pretty reserved man” and didn’t want to impose his problems on others.

But Biden’s Republican rivals went on the attack after it was revealed that Austin had not informed the chain of command.

Austin kept the government and public informed extensively when he returned to the hospital in February for a bladder problem related to Friday’s procedure.

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