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.
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.
Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to work with the incoming U.S. administration of Donald Trump as he held his final talks with outgoing President Joe Biden on conflicts from cyber crime to trade, Taiwan, the South China Sea and Russia.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to...
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, S...
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 12 October 2026 with the top five natural disasters happening around the world. ...
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
One person was killed and nearly a dozen hurt in a fresh attack on Riyadh's international airport on Sunday, Saudi authorities reported, a day after a strike claimed by Yemen's Houthis killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
The Kremlin on Monday rejected a 60-day ceasefire idea proposed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to allow his country to hold presidential elections, saying it wanted an overall peace deal instead.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 12 October 2026 with the top five natural disasters happening around the world.
The Houthi movement has escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting the airport in Riyadh and other cities, killing more than a dozen people.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday that Ukraine is ready to respect the energy ceasefire announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, but only if Russia does the same, saying Moscow has already violated the agreement.
China has announced sanctions against Belize’s foreign minister and Paraguay’s communications minister over their countries’ diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The move comes as Beijing continues to pressure the few remaining nations that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment