Latest news with #ChinaMilitary
South China Morning Post
4 hours ago
- Business
- South China Morning Post
China keeps a low profile at Shangri-La Dialogue. What does that mean?
It is customary for Chinese military delegations to push back against American messaging at the Shangri-La Dialogue , Asia's largest security summit. But this year's response was different: the rebuttal was not led by China's defence minister, but the country's military academic institutions. Advertisement Beijing's low-key attendance at the three-day forum in Singapore, which wrapped up on Sunday, was marked by the absence of the defence minister and the cancellation of a plenary session on China's security, which led to speculation and a few surprises. The absence of Defence Minister Dong Jun , who attended last year, also meant there were no bilateral talks between China and other countries, including the US, at a time when Beijing has been confronted with concerns about its military prowess. A US defence official confirmed to the Post on Friday that the two sides had not arranged bilateral meetings during the forum. Dong's absence was also a disappointment for other countries that had sought to hold talks on the sidelines of the forum, according to military officials from two countries who requested to remain anonymous. Advertisement One of the military officials said, 'The Chinese delegation told us they were not conducting bilateral engagements during the dialogue.'
ABC News
14 hours ago
- General
- ABC News
Richard Marles backs US call to increase regional security in Asia-Pacfic
Defence Minister Richard Marles has backed a call from US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth for America's allies in the Asia-Pacific to do more to contribute to regional security, in part to counter China's rapid military build-up.
LBCI
a day ago
- General
- LBCI
Australia's Defense Minister urges greater military openness from China
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Saturday urged greater transparency from China over its military modernization and deployments as Pacific nations brace for a more assertive Chinese presence. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, Marles said that while China remains an important strategic partner to Australia, more open communication between the two nations is key for a "productive" relationship. "When you look at the growth in the Chinese military that has happened without a strategic reassurance, or a strategic would like to have a greater transparency in what China is seeking to do in not only its build up, but in the exercises that it undertakes," said Marles. Reuters
ABC News
a day ago
- Business
- ABC News
Richard Marles warns Australia cannot rely on US alone to counter Chinese military build-up
Defence Minister Richard Marles says Australia cannot rely on the United States alone to counter China's military strength in the Indo-Pacific, as his US counterpart insists America's regional allies should contribute more to their own defence. Mr Marles, speaking at a global security conference in Singapore, warned China had embarked on the largest conventional military build-up since World War II, and was "doing so without providing any strategic transparency or reassurance". "This remains a defining feature of the strategic complexity that the Indo-Pacific and the world faces today," he said on Saturday. His comments followed assurances from US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth that the Trump administration would not abandon allies in the Indo-Pacific to military and economic pressure from China. In a keynote speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue hosted by the International Institute for Security Studies, Mr Hegseth vowed the US would bolster its defences overseas in response to Beijing's actions. But he also stressed the need for America's allies and partners to increase their own defence spending and preparations, saying the US was not interested in going it alone in the region. "Ultimately a strong, resolute and capable network of allies and partners is our key strategic advantage," he said. Speaking later in the morning, Mr Marles told the conference Mr Hegseth's comments emphasising the US's commitment to the Indo-Pacific were "deeply welcome". "The reality is that there is no effective balance of power in this region absent the United States," he said. "But we cannot leave this to the US alone. "Other countries must contribute to this balance as well, including Australia." He said Australia was increasing its own defence spending "to contribute to an effective regional balance where no state concludes that force is a viable way to achieve strategic goals". Australia is currently on track to reach defence spending levels of 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033-34, up from its current level of 2.02 per cent. But the Trump administration has pressured Australia's government to lift its spending to at least 3 per cent of GDP, including at a face-to-face meeting between Mr Hegseth and Mr Marles on Friday. Mr Marles later told the ABC's Afternoon Briefing that Australia understood why the US was asking allies to spend more on their defence. "What I made clear is that this is a conversation that we are very willing to have — and it is one that we are having, having already made very significant steps in the past," he said. Mr Hegseth, a former military officer and Fox News host, used his first appearance at the Shangri-La Dialogue to highlight what the Pentagon sees as the rapidly developing threat posed by China, particularly its stance towards Taiwan. China views Taiwan as its own territory, and has pledged to bring the island under Beijing's control, including through the use of force if necessary. In some of his strongest comments on the issue since he took office in January, Mr Hegseth said recent increases in the intensity of Chinese war games around Taiwan showed Beijing was "rehearsing for the real deal". "It has to be clear to all that Beijing is credibly preparing to potentially use military force to alter the balance of power in the Indo-Pacific." However, he said any attempt by China to conquer Taiwan "would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world", and repeated US President Donald Trump's assertion that China will not invade Taiwan on the president's watch. US Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth, who is co-leading a bipartisan delegation to the summit in Singapore, said it was noteworthy that Mr Hegseth had emphasised the US's commitment to the region, but his language on allies was not helpful. "I thought it was patronising of our friends in the Indo-Pacific in particular," Senator Duckworth said. Mr Marles also used Saturday's address to call for a revitalisation of the world's approach to strategic arms control, citing Russia's suspension of its participation in the New START treaty and China's decision to expand and modernise its nuclear arsenal to be on par with that of the United States. The deputy PM said future arms control treaties would need to move beyond simply restricting the numbers and types of warheads a country could have. "New technologies like cyber [warfare], the weaponisation of space, and the ability to integrate nuclear weapons with autonomous systems means traditional arms control frameworks are being surpassed without any established method of control to supplement them," he said. Mr Marles also warned that "another wave of global nuclear proliferation" could be imminent, as countries threatened by the "renewed imperial ambition" of larger powers sought security on their own terms. "In a profound abrogation of its responsibilities as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, Russia has threatened to use nuclear weapons in its war of conquest in Eastern Europe," he said. "Not only does this work against states disarming their own nuclear arsenals, as Ukraine responsibly did in 1994, the war is prompting some frontier states most exposed to Russian aggression to consider their options." Russia's strategic partnership with North Korea — which may include the transfer of nuclear weapons technology — and Iran's nuclear program are also acting as destabilising forces that could spark new proliferation cycles in Europe and Asia, Mr Marles said. "The arms control regime that we knew was a foundational component of an oft-maligned concept — the international rules-based order," he said. "Arms control must be seen as a necessary but not sufficient feature of a broader strategic order that we must build anew, an order defined as much by rules and norms as it is by power." ABC/Wires
Al Arabiya
a day ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Australia's defense minister urges greater military openness from China
Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles on Saturday urged greater transparency from China over its military modernization and deployments as Pacific nations brace for a more assertive Chinese presence. Speaking to Reuters on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue defense meeting in Singapore, Marles said that while China remains an important strategic partner to Australia, more open communication between the two nations is key for a 'productive' relationship. 'When you look at the growth in the Chinese military that has happened without a strategic reassurance, or a strategic transparency.... we would like to have a greater transparency in what China is seeking to do in not only its build up, but in the exercises that it undertakes,' said Marles. 'We want to have the most productive relationship with China that we can have ... we hope that in the context of that productive relationship, we can see greater transparency and greater communication between our two countries in respect of our defense.' Both Australia and New Zealand raised concerns in February after three Chinese warships conducted unprecedented live-fire drills in the Tasman Sea. Both nations complained of late notice over the drills by China, which led to the diversion of 49 commercial flights. Marles said that while the drills were in accordance with international law, China should have been less disruptive. He also said Australia was able to closely scrutinize the Chinese task-force. 'It's fair to say that this was done in a bigger way than they have done before, but equally, that was meant from our point of view, by a much greater degree of surveillance than we've ever done,' he said. 'From the moment that Chinese warships came within the vicinity of Australia, they were being tailed and tracked by Australian assets ... we were very clear about what exercises China was undertaking and what capability they were seeking to exercise and to build.' Chinese officials have signaled that more such exercises could be expected as it was routine naval activity in international waters. Defense analysts say the exercises underscore Beijing's ambition to develop a global navy that will be able to project power into the region more frequently. Australia has in recent times pledged to boost its missile defense capability amid China's nuclear weapons buildup and its blue-water naval expansion, as the country targets to increase its defense spending from roughly 2 percent of GDP currently to 2.4 percent by the early 2030s. The nation is scheduled to pay the United States $2 billion by the end of 2025 to assist its submarine shipyards, in order to buy three Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines starting in 2032 - its biggest ever defense project.
