China rebuffs meeting with US defense secretary

China rejected a meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a conference in southeast Asia this week, marking the latest turn in a tumultuous relationship between the two countries’ defense leaders, Report informs via CNN.

Austin sought to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, at the ASEAN Defense Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Laos as part of a long-standing effort to maintain military lines of communication between the US and the People’s Republic of China. But China did not accept the offer, pointing to a recent Taiwan arms sale as their rationale, a senior defense official told reporters traveling with Austin in Laos.

Three weeks ago, the US approved a $2 billion arms sale to Taiwan, including a first-time provision of advanced surface-to-air missiles to the self-governed island. China immediately criticized the sale, promising to take “resolute countermeasures” to defend its sovereignty.