Lloyd Austin worried about potential ‘incident’ due to Chinese silence.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin Concerned About Chinese Silence

“I’m concerned about, at some point, having an incident that could very, very quickly spiral out of control.”

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressed his concern about the silence from the Chinese Ministry of Defense during a press conference with Japan’s minister of defense, Yasukazu Hamada. Austin is currently on a trip to the Indo-Pacific and made the comments on Thursday morning local time. He acknowledged that the lack of communication from Chinese military leaders could lead to an incident that could “spiral out of control.”

Chinese Military Leaders Ignore U.S. Military Officials

Chinese military leaders have repeatedly ignored U.S. military officials’ outreach in recent months, dating back to the spy balloon incident in late February. Despite this, Austin stated that the U.S. will continue to work with like-minded countries who share common values and goals to promote a free and open Indo-Pacific. He emphasized the importance of countries with significant capabilities being able to communicate with each other to manage crises and prevent unnecessary escalation.

• The Chinese declined a meeting request from top U.S. defense officials, including Austin, for a meeting between him and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu before the annual Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Friday.
• Austin called the Chinese decision “unfortunate.”
• Since 2021, the PRC has declined or failed to respond to over a dozen requests from U.S. officials.

Chinese Fighter Pilot’s Aggressive Maneuver

Last week, a Chinese fighter pilot flew directly in front of the nose of a U.S. Air Force RC-135, forcing the U.S. aircraft to fly through its wake turbulence over the South China Sea. The U.S. military declassified and released a 30-second video of the incident from inside the U.S. aircraft showing the Chinese pilot’s intercept. The video starts by showing the other fighter jet from what appears to be on the right of the U.S. aircraft before it flies in front of it, and as that occurs, the cockpit can be seen jostling from the turbulence caused by the Chinese pilot.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken postponed a trip to China in early March after a Chinese surveillance balloon floated across U.S. airspace, including over sensitive military targets, before the military shot down that balloon off the Carolina coast. Tensions have also been strained by the Chinese military buildup in the South China Sea and its increasingly aggressive posture toward Taiwan, a self-governing island over which China claims sovereignty.

Chinese government officials have indicated their willingness to take Taiwan by force, if necessary. The Chinese have often used perceived slights from the U.S. to engage in these more aggressive military maneuvers.

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