US defense chief calls China’s refusal to meet unfortunate during visit to Tokyo for talks

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is stressing the importance of communication between Washington’s and Beijing’s defense authorities. He said Thursday that it’s unfortunate his Chinese counterpart refused to meet him at an annual security conference in Singapore. Both men are attending the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit this weekend. On the way to Singapore, Austin held talks with Japanese Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in Tokyo. He told a joint news conference in Tokyo that the U.S. hopes provocative aircraft intercepts would stop. The U.S. military said Tuesday that a Chinese fighter jet flew aggressively close to a U.S. reconnaissance aircraft over the South China Sea.