After the Chinese defense minister refused to meet his American counterpart. Tensions between Washington and Beijing expected to dominate Asian security meeting

Tensions between the United States and China are expected to cloud a high-profile security meeting in Asia after China rejected a bilateral meeting between the defense ministers of the two countries, which Washington regretted.

The Shangri-La Dialogue, which attracts participation from senior defense officials, military leaders, diplomats, arms manufacturers and security analysts from around the world, will take place in Singapore from June 2 to 4.

600 delegates from 49 countries will attend the meeting, which opens with a speech by Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Analysts say the dialogue is crucial given the number of bilateral and multilateral military meetings held on its sidelines, as well as dialogue sessions and speeches by defense ministers.

Chinese rejection and American regret

The Pentagon announced on Monday that China's new defense minister, Li Shangfu, had refused to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

A Chinese defense ministry spokesman told a news conference in Beijing when asked about the refusal that communication between the two militaries was ongoing throughout, but that the current difficulties and obstacles "are entirely responsible" by the United States.

"On the one hand, the United States has repeatedly said it wants to strengthen communication, and on the other hand, it ignores China's concerns and creates obstacles, seriously undermining mutual trust between the two militaries," the spokesman said, without saying what those obstacles were.

Austin, in remarks in Tokyo on Thursday, called it "unfortunate" and confirmed that there was no scheduled meeting with China's defense minister.

Austin said: "I would welcome any opportunity to reach out to Lee. "I think the two ministries of defense should communicate regularly or have open channels of communication."

"You have heard me talk many times about the importance of countries with great capabilities, and the need to talk to each other so that they can manage crises and prevent things from spiraling out of control unnecessarily," he told reporters in the Japanese capital.

He added that "recent provocative interceptions of our aircraft and those of our allies" by China are "deeply troubling."

"We hope they change their actions, but since they haven't done so yet, I'm worried about an incident at some point that could get out of control very quickly."

On Tuesday, the U.S. military said a Chinese warpilot had conducted an "unprovoked aggressive maneuver" on Friday near a U.S. military reconnaissance aircraft flying over the South China Sea.

Video footage showed a fighter jet passing in front of a U.S. plane shaking by disruptions caused by the Chinese fighter's passage.

China responded on Wednesday by accusing the United States of "provocative and dangerous manoeuvres" and asserting that the U.S. reconnaissance aircraft "deliberately penetrated into our training area."

The events come at a time of rising tensions between Beijing and Washington over issues such as Taiwan and the flight of a Chinese balloon over the US soil at the beginning of the year.

Other files on the meeting table

Analysts say other issues are also expected to top the agenda, including Russia's war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan and North Korea's weapons programs, but neither Russian nor North Korean delegations will attend the meetings.

Diplomats from the region and defense analysts say all eyes will be on the performance of General Li, who took over as China's defense minister in March and was sanctioned by the United States in 2018 over arms purchases from Russia.

Although the post of China's defense minister is largely diplomatic and ceremonial, Li is a member of the influential Central Defense Commission, follows President Xi Jinping and is close to his key military ally, Gen. Zhang Yuxia, they said.

The meetings are also expected to discuss other key issues such as tensions over disputes in the South and East China Seas.

Discussions may also address the security relations that are developing within the framework of AUKUS, a grouping of closer ties between the United States, Britain and Australia, as well as the quadrilateral security dialogue group between the United States, Japan, India and Australia, especially given China's concerns that the two groupings are an attempt to encircle it.

Washington and Tokyo strengthen their military alliance

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Thursday in Tokyo that the United States and Japan were working to modernize their military alliance in the face of threats from China, North Korea and Russia.

Austin noted that the two countries face "common challenges related to China's coercive behavior" and "the serious provocations of North Korea and the brutal war chosen by Russia in Ukraine."

"But we are united by our shared interests and values and are taking important steps to modernize our alliances and strengthen our deterrence."

Austin pointed to trilateral cooperation with Australia and South Korea as well as increased "frequency, scope and scale" of the exercises and training.