China's Defense Minister Not Attending Shangri-La Dialogue, US Defense Secretary Taking the Opportunity to Boast: We Are Stronger Than China
The 22nd Shangri-La Dialogue is scheduled to take place in Singapore from May 30th to June 1st. It has been reported that China's Defense Minister Dong Jun will not attend the event, and instead, a delegation of Chinese defense officials will participate. This means that the first meeting between the defense ministers of both countries since the change in the U.S. government will be postponed.
However, with the absence of China's defense minister, the U.S. defense secretary is preparing to heavily promote America's Indo-Pacific strategy. According to reports by Reuters, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagseth will attend the dialogue and deliver a speech. In addition to outlining America's vision for defense policies in the Indo-Pacific region, he also aims to convey to Asian-Pacific nations that the U.S. is a more reliable partner than China in Asia.
Nevertheless, Hagseth’s plan can be considered overly optimistic. On one hand, among the United States' loyal military allies in the Asia-Pacific region, only Japan and the Philippines can be considered as such at most, while other countries are not so easily swayed by the U.S.
On the other hand, although China's defense minister will not attend the dialogue, French President Emmanuel Macron will personally participate. This indicates that France and Europe will vie for influence alongside the U.S., making it unlikely for Hagseth to hog the spotlight alone.
Moreover, Hagseth, as the U.S. defense secretary, has quite a number of "black histories." In the U.S., he has faced much skepticism for sharing sensitive combat plans against Yemen's Houthi rebels in two encrypted chat groups. Additionally, he couldn't even name all the members of ASEAN, which does not inspire much confidence.
Furthermore, ever since taking office, Hagseth has made numerous outrageous remarks, obsessively hyping up the so-called "China threat." Besides creating obstacles for an already tense Sino-American relationship, these actions have brought no benefits to regional and international situations. Of course, it can be anticipated that various false statements targeting China will run rampant during the dialogue. Countries should remain vigilant and avoid falling into the trap set by the West.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1833427236590656/
Disclaimer: The article solely represents the views of the author.