We will not flinch US defence chief calls out China on first trip to South East Asia

Singapore: United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has slammed China over its aggression in the South China Sea and towards Taiwan, but says his focus is on enhancing ties in the Indo-Pacific and military capability in a bid to “deter anyone that would make the mistake of taking us on”.

In his first major speech on security in south-east Asia and and the rise of China, the Pentagon chief said the US was committed to ensuring a free, open and rules-based region and took aim at Beijing for conduct that did not adhere to those principles.

United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is on his first trip to south-east Asia.Credit:AP

“Beijing’s claim to the vast majority of the South China Sea has no basis in international law,” the retired Army general said at Singapore’s Fullerton Hotel on Tuesday night.

“Unfortunately, Beijing’s unwillingness to resolve disputes peacefully, and respect the rule of law, isn’t just occurring on the water. You’ve also seen aggression against India, destabilising military activity and other forms of coercion against the people of Taiwan, and genocide and crimes against humanity against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.”

Austin, who is also taking in Vietnam and the Philippines on a sweep through a region he said was his department’s top strategic priority, was speaking a day after the latest frosty talks between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng ended with China accusing Washington of casting it as an “imagined enemy”.

While tensions remain high, Austin said the US was committed to avoiding conflict with China.

“These differences and disputes are real. But the way that you manage them helps. We will not flinch when our interests are threatened, yet we do not see confrontation,” he said at an event hosted by Singapore-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

“I am committed to pursuing a constructive, stable relationship with China including stronger crisis communications with the People’s Liberation Army.

“We compete necessarily because we’re two economic powers. We both have impressive military might. But we don’t seek a conflict with China.”

Amid growing fears about China preparing to seize Taiwan, the then commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral Philip Davidson, forecast in March that Beijing may be ready to take such action by 2027.

Austin did not provide such a timeline himself but said Chinese leader Xi Jinping “had been vocal about what his interests are going forward and I think we have to take him for his word”.

He used the speech to reissue a call for Myanmar’s military to engage with the five-point plan conceived by ASEAN in April in an effort to end the bloodshed there and “forge a lasting peace”.

Austin also denounced upswing in hate crimes and discrimination against Asian-Americans in the US, labelling it unacceptable.

After disengagement during the Trump era, the US has signalled an intention to pivot back towards south-east Asia under President Joe Biden although to this point it hasn’t exactly flooded the zone.

While Sherman met leaders in Jakarta, Bangkok and Phnom Penh in early June, Austin’s visit to the region is the first by a Biden cabinet member.

There was a spanner in the works with the cancellation due to COVID-19 of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit, which Austin was due to attend in Singapore last month.

And with the White House’s point man on Asia, Kurt Campbell, urging a greater presence in south-east Asia there appears even higher level activity ahead. Politico reported on Tuesday that there were plans for US Vice-President Kamala Harris to visit Singapore and Vietnam next month.

Austin met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen on Monday, but while reinforcing security ties with the city state and Vietnam were key components of his itinerary, his stopover in Manila was arguably most important as the US bids to secure an extension to a long-standing agreement allowing it to station troops in the Philippines.

Outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte last year signalled he would tear up the pact, having shifted foreign policy closer to China, but he has delayed the abrogation and Philippine Defence Secretary Delfin Lorenzana indicated last week the deal was likely to be extended.

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Chris Barrett is the south-east Asia correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

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