US and Chinese defense chiefs meet after tensions in Taiwan

FILE PHOTO: The flags of the United States and China. Associated press

WASHINGTON, United States — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart, the Pentagon announced Friday, after Beijing staged war games around Taiwan in a sign for the U.S.-backed democracy’s new leader.

The Pentagon said Austin would meet with Chinese Admiral Dong Jun during the May 31-June 2 Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of defense officials around the world.

China has surrounded Taiwan in recent days with warships and fighter jets in a test of its ability to conquer the island, which it claims. The exercises follow the inauguration of President Lai Ching-te, who has vowed to protect Taiwan’s self-governing democracy.

READ: China: Exercises around Taiwan test ability to seize power

Austin’s meeting with Dong had been widely expected since Austin spoke by phone with Dong in April, in what were the first substantive talks between the two powers’ defense chiefs in nearly 18 months.

President Joe Biden’s administration and China have stepped up communications to reduce friction, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken visiting Beijing and Shanghai last month.

But defense talks stalled until Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed to a resumption of military dialogue during a summit with Biden in California in November.

Austin will also travel to Cambodia next week for talks with defense ministers from the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, ending his trip in France, where he will join President Joe Biden in commemorating the 80th anniversary of D-Day.

READ: US ‘strongly’ urges China to exercise restraint during Taiwan drills

The trip was announced even though Austin planned late Friday to temporarily hand over his duties to his deputy, Kathleen Hicks, due to his latest medical procedure.

Austin, a key figure in Western efforts to support Ukraine against a Russian offensive, “will undergo a planned, elective and minimally invasive follow-up non-surgical procedure related to his previously reported bladder problem,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said. .

He will be “temporarily unable to perform his functions and duties,” with Hicks serving briefly as acting defense secretary, Ryder said.

The transparency comes after a furor when Austin disappeared from public view due to cancer treatment in December and again in January when he suffered complications.

A spotlight-shunning retired general, Austin, 70, later said he was a “pretty private guy” and didn’t want to burden others with his problems.

But Biden’s Republican rivals went on the attack after it emerged that Austin had not informed the chain of command.

Austin broadly informed the government and the public when he returned to the hospital in February for a bladder problem related to Friday’s procedure.