China, US defense leaders to meet in Cambodia

News November 21, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

The U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs are set to arrive in Cambodia next week to attend the meeting of the Southeast Asian defense ministers. A possible bilateral meeting between the two defense chiefs of rival powers is also expected at the sidelines of the forum.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus would take place from November 27 to December 1, 2022. China’s Defense Ministry said General Wei Fenghe has confirmed his attendance at the forum.

The U.S. Department of Defense also confirmed that the Pentagon Chief Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin will also attend the meeting following his trip to Canada and Indonesia.

Both defense ministers plan to meet with their counterparts from Southeast Asian countries. So far, it has not been confirmed whether or not the two defense chiefs would hold a bilateral meeting with each other, however, a face-to-face meeting between the two is largely expected.

Spokesperson of the Chinese Defense Ministry Col. Tan Kefei indicated the possibility of a meeting in a statement where he confirmed Gen. Fenghe’s attendance at the forum. “China holds a positive and open attitude toward exchanges with the U.S. during the period of the ASEAN-Plus meeting and relevant departments of both countries are maintaining communication and coordination in this regard,” he said.

Both China and U.S. are pushing hard to increase defense cooperation in the Southeast Asian region especially through enhancing their political ties in the region through engagements with ASEAN, the 10-nations organization that majorly represents all affairs related to the region.

China and U.S. are also at odds with each other over several issues ranging from the Russia-Ukraine war to the status of Taiwan. China’s Defense Ministry said Wei would address the assembly and meet with heads of other delegations to discuss “bilateral cooperation and issues of regional and international concern.”

China and four ASEAN members share overlapping claims to territory in the South China Sea, home to vital shipping lanes, along with plentiful fish stocks and undersea mineral resources. China and ASEAN have made little headway on finalizing a code of conduct to avoid conflicts in the area.

*^{Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe. (Image Credit: China’s Ministry of National Defense)}*

The U.S. also has a security alliance with the Philippines and strong relations with other ASEAN members, except for Myanmar, where the military has launched a brutal crackdown since taking power last year.

The U.S. Defense Department said that Austin would hold an “informal multilateral engagement” with his ASEAN counterparts and meet with officials from Cambodia and partner nations “to bring greater stability, transparency, and openness to the Indo-Pacific region.”

Last time, it was in Singapore that the two defense ministers came face-to-face with each other and held a bilateral meeting in June 2022, at the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue.