US says talks with China 'essential' to curb chance of conflict

Sweden's Minister for Defence, Pål Jonson, left, sits next to Fiji's Minister for Home Affairs and Immigration Pio Tikoduadua, during the 20th International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's annual defense and security forum in Singapore, Saturday, June 3, 2023.- AP

SINGAPORE, June 3, 2023 (AFP): Dialogue between the United States and China is "essential" to avoid miscalculations that could lead to conflict, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Saturday, after Beijing rejected a formal meeting between him and his Chinese counterpart.

Austin and Li Shangfu shook hands and spoke briefly for the first time at the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue defence summit in Singapore on Friday, but the interaction fell short of the Pentagon's hopes for a more substantive exchange.