US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said today during the international security conference "Shangri-La Dialogue" in Singapore that war with China is neither an imminent nor an imminent possibility, despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, and stressed the importance of renewed dialogue between it and its Chinese counterpart to avoid "misjudgments and misunderstandings," it said Associated Press and BTA.
Austin's comments at the annual defense forum "Shangri-La Dialogue" they come a day after an hour-long meeting on the sidelines of the conference with his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun.
It was the first such meeting between the US and Chinese defense ministers since bilateral defense contacts were suspended in 2022 over a visit to Taiwan by then-Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, which angered Beijing, AP notes.