Cui Tiankai, a seasoned diplomat and former Chinese ambassador to the US, told Reuters on June 4 that the US should reduce its military deployment near China in “good faith” if high-level defense discussions are to restart. “Why would they bother traveling such a long distance just to come to our house?” “They are too close to our territorial waters and land,” Cui said of the United States’ navy and air force deployments surrounding China.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu presented a keynote lecture on “China’s New Security Initiative” on June 4, the third day of the Shangri-La Dialogue. Li initially expounded on a new security strategy that emphasizes “dialogue over confrontation, partnership over alliance, and win-win over zero-sum.” In his address, Li, as in past years, reiterated China’s position on the Taiwan problem, the South China Sea issue, and other issues.
I believe this is a very valuable speech in terms of informing us about China’s military plans and geopolitical connections with this area and the rest of the globe, as well as its views on relations with the US, the international order, the Taiwan dispute, and the South China Sea issue.
Following Li’s speech, much public debate has focused on sizing it up against that of his US counterpart. On June 2, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin made a speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue’s inaugural plenary session. According to the event organizer’s schedule, Austin’s speech was titled “The United States’ Leadership in the Indo-Pacific.”
However, the title was mysteriously changed to “A Shared Vision for the Indo-Pacific” in the announcement on the official website of the US Department of Defense (DOD) on that day, with the content of the address remaining unchanged.
Austin concentrated the first half of his speech on the US alliance with Asia-Pacific countries, introducing some of their most recent military deployments and activities in the Indo-Pacific. He highlighted that Biden’s planned FY 2024 defense budget for enhancing the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI) hit an all-time high of 9.1 billion US dollars, up 40% from last year.
In his statements regarding China Austin, as predicted, addressed the Taiwan problem and the South China Sea issue, accusing the Chinese military of performing “dangerous maneuvers” against US military aircraft in the South China Sea. The true situation, however, was that the US surveillance aircraft intruded into the Chinese military training area and committed illegal scout and interference missions.