Jakarta, IO – The Shangri-La Dialogue, which lasted three days, was over. All participants made the most of the occasion by holding in-depth discussions, voicing their opinions, and expressing their concerns, during extensive bilateral or multilateral sessions.
On the evening of June 2, local time, the Shangri-La Dialogue’s welcoming supper was held. The “dangerous encounter” between the two military aircraft in the South China Sea and the impractical formal meeting between the two defense chiefs were among the reasons why the Chinese and US defense chiefs shook hands at the banquet, easing some of the tension in their military relations.
“On the sidelines of a security summit in Singapore, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin shook hands with China’s Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu, but the two did not have a substantive exchange,’” Pentagon Press Secretary Pat Ryder stated in a statement.
According to a senior US defense source, the sight of the two talking is excellent, but “a handshake at dinner is no substitute for sitting down and having a meaningful exchange.” The next time they meet, it should be for real and substantial discussion.”
Earlier, the Chinese Defense Ministry replied to the US’s exaggeration of China’s “rejection” of the suggestion for a meeting between the two defense ministers, saying, “Dialogue cannot be without principles, and communication cannot be without a bottom line.”
The US is ‘totally accountable’ for the present issues in bilateral military relations. On the one hand, the US has made a show of improving communication, while on the other, it has purposefully erected barriers regardless of China’s concerns, gravely damaging mutual confidence between the two forces. This is not the mentality required to be devoted to communication.”
The US is not serious about a substantive discussion and has merely hypocritically requested one in order to transfer responsibility to China, once its request was rebuffed – as predicted. Even if a summit was arranged, the US would continue to antagonize China arbitrarily afterward.
Its discrepancy between its words and its actions have harmed ties between the two nations and their military significantly. As a result, there is no use in convening a conference, and it will not alleviate the existing challenges confronting the two parties in practice.
China’s military diplomacy is always available. What the US should do is put into action the key consensus reached by the two heads of state, stick to the one-China principle and the three joint communiques issued by China and the US, demonstrate its sincerity, and mend its errors. Only in this manner could a meeting of bilateral military commanders be held.