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.
Russian parliamentary elections have delivered a comfortable win to the ruling United Russia party, which is closely aligned to President Vladimir ...
A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan’s Pacific coast on Monday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and a heightened risk of landslide...
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes milita...
Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country.
The U.S. State Department approved a $2.7 billion military sale to Ukraine for air-defence development upgrades, along with related equipment and services, the department said. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities reported at least 10 people had died in Russian attacks over the last 24 hours.
The death toll from an overnight Russian attack on the Kyiv region rose to four, including three children, Kyiv regional authorities said on Sunday. A mother and her two 3-year-old children were killed when a Russian drone strike hit a private home, the emergency service said.
Iran's military has threatened to launch sustained attacks on U.S. bases and interests across the Middle East if Washington resumes military action against Tehran.
Russian parliamentary elections have delivered a comfortable win to the ruling United Russia party, which is closely aligned to President Vladimir Putin. With more than 95 per cent of ballots counted, United Russia has taken 57.83 per cent of the vote, up from the 49.8 per cent which it won in 2021.
A powerful typhoon was approaching Japan’s Pacific coast on Monday, bringing torrential rain, strong winds and a heightened risk of landslides across the Kanto region, including Tokyo, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
Overnight Russian strikes on the city of Sumy, northeast Ukraine, have killed one woman and injured a man, the country's State Emergency Service has said.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 21 September 2026. These are the top five stories making headlines in sports.
Baku is preparing to host its 10th Formula 1 race, with the city’s streets once again set to transform into one of the most demanding circuits on the F1 calendar.
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