Tag: IISS

US defense chief assails China’s “toolkit of coercion” – Asia Times

Acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan speaks at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, June 1, 2019 (Simon Roughneen)

SINGAPORE — In a highly-anticipated policy address in Singapore, acting US Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan warned today (June 1) China that “behavior that erodes other nations’ sovereignty and sows distrust of China’s intentions must end.”At the same time, America’s top defense official stopped short of demanding countries take sides in the US-China economic and military face-off and said that there is still a chance for the two superpowers to come to terms.“The United States does not want any country in this region to have to choose or forgo positive economic relations with any partner,” Shanahan said, adding in a veiled reference to China that “some in our region are choosing to act contrary to the principles and norms that have benefitted us all.”

US and China trade barbs, again, over the South China Sea – Nikkei Asian Review

SINGAPORE– After U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis accused China of “intimidation” and “coercion” in the disputed South China Sea on Saturday, a Chinese general responded by saying that “countries accusing China” are the ones causing tension in the region. In an early morning speech in Singapore, Mattis said that “China’s policy in the South China Sea stands in stark contrast to the openness our strategy promises, it calls into question China’s broader goals.” Mattis was speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual military conference staged by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a British research organization. Responding later the same day, Lt. Gen. He Lei, head of the Chinese delegation attending the conference, said “China has resolve and capability to defend its sovereignty.”