Austin claims CCP is undermining world order during communication blackout.
China’s Refusal to Communicate with US Poses National Security Threat, Says Defense Secretary
The United States Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, has warned that China’s continued refusal to communicate with the US is a threat to national security. Austin made the comments after his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, declined to meet him during the upcoming Shangri-La Security Dialogue in Singapore this week, despite both being in attendance.
“I think that is unfortunate,” Austin said during a June 1 press hearing in Tokyo. “I would welcome any opportunity to engage with Li.”
Austin expressed concern over several dangerous encounters between their military’s aircraft in recent months, including a Chinese fighter jet carrying out an “unnecessarily aggressive” maneuver near a US plane over the South China Sea earlier this week. Without open lines of communication, Austin warned that a similar incident “could very quickly spiral out of control.”
“The provocative intercept of our aircraft and our allies’ aircraft is very concerning, and we would hope they would alter their actions,” Austin said. “I think defense departments should be talking to each other on a routine basis or should have open channels for communications.”
Calls to China ‘Not Answered’
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has systematically cut off communications with Biden administration officials at every level over the past year. The regime first severed regional military communications with the US following then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan last year. Since then, the CCP has refused numerous requests for meetings with Austin, regional military commanders, and even civilian Department of Defense employees.
“We’ve had a lot of difficulty,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner. “We have repeatedly had those requests rejected or not answered.”
The Biden administration is now trying to draw China back to the table out of a fear that the lack of communication could lead to a catastrophic miscommunication. The administration is persisting in its strategy to charm, cajole, or coerce Beijing back into communications as part of a desire to re-create the apparent progress achieved by President Joe Biden’s in-person meeting with CCP leader Xi Jinping in Bali last November.
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