China has rejected a request by the United States for a gathering between their protection chiefs on the sidelines of an annual safety discussion board in Singapore this coming weekend, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
“Overnight, the PRC informed the US that they have declined our early May invitation for Secretary (Lloyd) Austin to meet with PRC Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu in Singapore this week,” the Pentagon stated in a press release to the Journal, including the division believes in open communication “to ensure that competition does not veer into conflict.”
Last week, White House spokesman John Kirby stated there have been discussions by the Defense Department to get a dialog going between Lloyd and his Chinese counterpart.
Kirby additionally stated there was the potential of a gathering between US Trade Representative Katherine Tai and her Chinese counterpart through the Asia-Pacific-Economic Cooperation (APEC) assembly in Detroit. — Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
