Competing pressures on U.S. global power took center stage at a security meeting on Sunday, with China accusing the U.S. of exacerbating tensions around Taiwan and the South China Sea and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky seeking more support for the troubled country.
The scenes played out at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual security forum in Singapore that has long been a barometer of the ups and downs of U.S.-China relations.
This year, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III and his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Dong Jun, held talks, something that had never been done at this gathering of senior defense officials from both countries. But Admiral Tung made clear that China remains strongly opposed to U.S. influence and alliance-building in Asia, particularly U.S. support for Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its territory.
“These malicious intentions are leading Taiwan to the danger of war,” Admiral Tung said at the meeting, after indirectly but explicitly mentioning U.S. military and political support for Taiwan. “Whoever dares to split Taiwan from China will be shattered into pieces and bring about his own destruction.”
Admiral Dong’s warning, like other combative remarks by Chinese military officers at the meeting, reflects the deep differences that Beijing and Washington remain over some fundamental regional issues, even as they discuss ways to prevent escalation of military friction at sea and in the air. for crisis.
Last month, China held two days of threatening military drills around Taiwan, accusing new President Lai Ching-te of trying to push for Taiwanese independence. Mr Lai’s Democratic Progressive Party claims Taiwan has independent status, although Mr Lai has said he would not seek outright independence.
Austin warned in a speech on Saturday against “actions in the region that undermine the status quo and threaten peace and stability,” an indirect reference to Chinese pressure on Taiwan. Austin also said that despite China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea, “it is in our common interest to ensure that the South China Sea remains open and free.”
But Admiral Dong accused an unnamed Southeast Asian country – apparently the Philippines – of stirring up trouble on disputed islands and shoals at sea, and suggested again that the United States was the real culprit.
He said in a speech to diplomats, military officials and experts from Asian countries that “individual countries, instigated by external forces, reneged on bilateral agreements, violated commitments, and premeditatedly provoked trouble.” “China’s performance in responding to these provocations There is enough restraint, but there are limits to this restraint.”
The Philippines has been at odds with China over claims in the South China Sea, which Manila calls the West Philippine Sea. In 2016, an international tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea rejected China’s broad claims in the South China Sea, which include shoals near the Philippines. Beijing ignored the ruling.
At a meeting in Singapore, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned on Friday that his government may seek U.S. support under a mutual defense treaty if a Chinese ship kills a Filipino sailor.
A U.S. official who listened to Admiral Dong’s remarks questioned his characterization of China and its People’s Liberation Army as innocent victims of a regional dispute. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss geopolitical tensions, said the admiral’s claims were inconsistent with the Chinese military’s “coercive activities” in the region.
Even in Singapore, Austin and other Western officials were reminded that Ukraine’s more than two-year war against Russian aggression still demands the attention of its leaders and taxpayer resources.
Zelensky joined the party at the last minute. On Sunday, he met with Austin, who provided an update on U.S. security assistance before Zelensky spoke at the meeting, according to Pentagon minutes.
In the face of Russia’s military advances in Ukraine, Zelensky has been urging the United States and Europe to increase support for the Ukrainian military and overcome concerns about Ukraine launching American missiles and other weapons at military targets in Russia.
He received loud applause before delivering a 15-minute speech to promote a Ukraine peace summit in Switzerland next month, which he said officials from 106 countries had agreed to attend. He called on Indo-Pacific leaders to support the gathering with attendance or ideas.
“We are ready to listen to suggestions and ideas that will not lead to the continuation of the war – which is very important – but will lead to its end,” he said, adding that only persistent diplomacy could end the conflict. .
“The world has to be resilient; it has to be strong; it has to put pressure on Russia,” he told the conference. “There is no other way to stop Putin.”
Analysts said his presence showed the growing interconnectedness of global security issues.
“This is a reminder to countries in Asia and the Indo-Pacific that the war in Ukraine is not just a European problem. It is a problem facing the world,” said Bonnie S. Glaser, managing director of the Indo-Pacific Program at the German Marshall Fund of the United States. Bonnie S. Glaser) said.
“Zelensky realizes that he has to go out and remind the world to continue to support his country’s ongoing struggle,” said Ms. Glaser, who attended the Singapore meeting.
Zelensky said on social media that he also met with members of the U.S. Congress at a rally in Singapore, including Texas Representative Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Zelensky thanked him for helping win approval for additional military aid to Ukraine in April but said more was needed.
“We discussed the frontline situation and military assistance, especially additional systems and missiles to strengthen our air defense,” Zelensky said.
