China's defense minister declined a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting of defense leaders in Laos, a move the Pentagon chief said on Wednesday was unfortunate.
Multilateral gatherings of national security officials in Asia have been used in the past for meetings between U.S. and Chinese defense leaders, but China declined a meeting request by Austin during this week's Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-Plus defense ministers meeting.
"It's unfortunate. It affects the region because the region really wants to see us, you know, two significant players in the region, two significant powers, talk to each other," Austin told reporters.
"I don't think that it has any sort of implications for the future. I just think that it's something that they chose to do at this point in time and only they can explain why they chose to not take advantage of a good opportunity," Austin added.
Austin met China's defense minister, Dong Jun, on the sidelines of a Singapore conference earlier this year, reiterating their differences on Taiwan and other issues but emphasizing the need to keep military-to-military communications open.
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China's defense minister declined a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting of defense leaders in Laos, a move the Pentagon chief said on Wednesday was unfortunate.
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The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief, as well as a Hamas leader, Ibrahim Al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, the court said on Thursday.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel describes her dealings with world leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump during her 16 years in power in her new memoir, which comes as her legacy is under fire in light of today's crises.
Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, active again after 800 years, has seen repeated volcanic eruptions since 2021. From lava fountains to massive fissures, eruptions have reshaped the landscape, attracting tourists while prompting evacuations and safety warnings.
An earthquake measuring 4.6 on the Richter scale struck the Dashtestan district of Bushehr Province in southern Iran at 8:30 a.m. local time today, according to the National Seismology Center of the Institute of Geophysics at Tehran University.
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