US-China handshake fails to stem Asia’s fear of another Ukraine

Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu met face-to-face and shook hands on June 2 during the opening dinner of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. - PLA

WASHINGTON (Bloomberg): A highly anticipated defence forum in Singapore kicked off with a friendly handshake between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. It ended Sunday (June 4) with few other signs of optimism that the world’s biggest economies could avoid an eventual collision.

Austin used his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue to chide China over its refusal to meet unless the US lifted sanctions on Li, saying that "a cordial handshake over dinner is no substitute for a substantive engagement.”