Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles met his Chinese counterpart, Li Shangfu, on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore after Li refused to meet U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
Marles confirmed the meeting on Twitter, calling the meeting another “important step” towards stablising the relationship between the two countries.
In a speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue Plenary Session Seven on June 4, Marles said Australia has sought to stablise this relationship after a “difficult period,” where high level talks between Australia and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had completely frozen for over two years during COVID-19.
But he also highlighted that the Chinese regime is currently carrying out the “largest conventional military build-up” since World War II….