Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun declined a one-on-one meeting with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin during the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in Laos. The Chinese Ministry of Defense blamed the US for the failure to engage, citing tensions over Taiwan and military sales to the island.
The US and China have been attempting to improve military communications, but relations have soured over issues like Taiwan and the South China Sea. Dong's refusal to meet with Austin marks a setback in these efforts.
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Lloyd James Austin III is a retired four-star general of the United States Army. He was the 12th commander of United States Central Command. Austin was the first Black commander to head the organization.
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The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China, in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Philippines, and in the south by B
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China, officially the People's Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of around 1.4 billion in 2019.
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Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
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The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Situated in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of about 7,641 islands that are broadly categorized under three main geographical divisions from
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The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a regional intergovernmental organization comprising ten countries in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, military, educational, and soci
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Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, is a country in Southeast Asia and the easternmost country on the Indochinese Peninsula. With an estimated 96.2 million inhabitants as of 2019, it is the 15th most populous country in the world. Vietn
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Dong Jun is a Chinese admiral of the People's Liberation Army Navy who has served as the 14th Minister of National Defense since December 2023.
He served as the Commander of the People's Liberation Army Navy from September 2021 to December 2023.
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Taiwan, officially the Republic of China, is a country in East Asia. Neighbouring countries include the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Japan to the northeast, and the Philippines to the south.