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Opinion | Amid Asia’s arms race, US and Chinese militaries must restart dialogue
- US-China competition is adding to an already volatile climate in the Asia-Pacific
- Military build-ups in the region are heightening the risk of conflict. Given this, the US and China must keep communication channels open
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The Asia-Pacific has long been a hotbed of geopolitical tension and conflict. A complex web of territorial disputes, great-power rivalries, historical grievances and non-traditional security challenges has created an unstable environment.
More than the unresolved disputes involving multiple countries in the South China Sea, it is the competition among major powers, particularly between the United States and China, that is generating instability as they seek to either assert influence or maintain regional dominance.
In the past few years, tensions between the US and China have risen over issues spanning trade, technology and spying allegations. At present, bilateral relations are at an all-time low, creating apprehension about the future of the relationship and what it may mean for the Asia-Pacific.
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Military-to-military meetings were suspended by China last August following then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan. Since then, tensions between the two countries have been exacerbated by the controversy in February surrounding a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon in US airspace.
At the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu and his US counterpart Lloyd Austin did not have a meeting but instead gave speeches that were critical of each other’s countries, dashing hopes that the security summit could be an opportunity for the two powers to improve and stabilise relations.
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Without naming the US and its allies, Li said some countries were engaging in actions not conducive to stability in the region. This remark came soon after a near-collision between a Chinese warship and a US destroyer in the Taiwan Strait.
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