The Manila Times

China, Singapore agree to set up defense hotline

SINGAPORE: China and Singapore on Thursday laid the groundwork for a hotline between them that would establish a high-level communications link between Beijing and a close American partner in Asia at a time when Chinese tensions with Washington are high and dialogue has stalled.

Li Shangfu, a general in China’s People’s Liberation Army who was named the country’s defense minister in March, signed a memorandum of understanding with his Singaporean counterpart Ng Eng Hen to work toward establishing a secure telephone link “for highlevel communications between our defense leaders,” said a statement released by Singapore.

“Such high-level open lines of communications are important for strengthening mutual understanding and trust,” it added, without giving a timeline for when it would be established.

Li is on his first visit to Singapore as defense chief, and is broadly discussing global and regional security issues with a range of officials. Singapore said both countries’ defense establishments “interact regularly through bilateral and multilateral exercises” and that his visit underscored “long-standing, warm and friendly” relations.

At the same time, Singapore is a close military and economic partner of the United States, and the agreement to establish the direct phone link comes as communications between Washington and Beijing are strained.

Li also established a defense hotline with Japan in March to improve communication and help avoid accidental encounters in the tense region.

While in Singapore, Li is expected to address defense officials, diplomats and country leaders at the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference on Sunday, but declined a request from Washington to meet on the sidelines with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who will deliver a speech at the same meeting on Saturday.

Among many issues, China has been irritated by American support for Taiwan, a self-governing democratic island that it claims as its own territory; the shooting down of what the US called a Chinese spy balloon; and sanctions directly targeting Li.

Those sanctions are related to Washington’s broad package of measures against Russia, but predate its invasion of Ukraine and were imposed in 2018 over Li’s involvement in China’s purchase of combat aircraft and antiaircraft missiles from Moscow.

The sanctions, which broadly prevent Li from doing business in the US, do not prevent him from holding official talks, Washington has said.

Earlier this week, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said Austin’s offer of talks in Singapore had been rejected because the US “disregards China’s concerns and creates artificial obstacles.”

“The US side should take practical actions to show sincerity and correct mistakes, so as to create the necessary conditions and proper atmosphere for communication and exchange between the two sides,” he said, while not mentioning the sanctions or other issues directly.

Asia And Oceania

en-ph

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-06-02T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281943137267525

The Manila Times