TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin pledged America’s commitment to Indo-Pacific security during the Shangri-la Dialogue in Singapore on Saturday (June 1).
“We are all in. And we're not going anywhere," Austin said, according to a Pentagon press release. The region is more secure when the U.S. and its partners work together, he said.
Working together boosts common purpose and highlights sovereignty, Austin said. “It's about nations of goodwill uniting around the interests that we share and the values that we cherish," he added.
These interests include respect for sovereignty and international law, commerce, freedom of navigation, openness, transparency, accountability, and peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue, the defense secretary said. He pointed out the accomplishments the U.S. achieved with its regional partners.
It helped the Philippines improve maritime defensive capabilities and expand “maritime domain awareness across the region.” It also made “major investments” in the submarine industry to help bolster the AUKUS trilateral security partnership.
Additionally, the U.S. worked with Japan and South Korea to draft a multi-year trilateral exercise plan “to train together in unprecedented ways.”
Austin said the U.S. remains dedicated to the region because it “can be secure only if Asia is secure.”
Austin met with his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun (董軍) in Singapore and discussed U.S.-China defense relations and regional and global security issues. The defense secretary expressed concern about the recent Chinese military drills around Taiwan and stressed that China should not use Taiwan’s presidential inauguration as a pretext for coercion.
Austin said the U.S. “one China” policy consisted of the Taiwan Relations Act, the three U.S.-China joint communiques, and the Six Assurances. He also reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and said the U.S. would “continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows.”
China on May 23 launched the “Joint Sword-2024A” military drill around northern, southern, and eastern Taiwan, and Kinmen and Matsu. The exercise was “punishment” for what Beijing called Taiwanese “independence forces.”
Chinese forces focused on joint sea and aerial combat readiness patrols, battlefield control, and precision attacks on critical targets.