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US defence secretary raises concerns about China’s military activity, Pentagon says

By Thomson Reuters May 31, 2024 | 1:34 AM

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin raised concerns about China’s military activity during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart on Friday in Singapore, the Pentagon said, the first such face-to-face contact since 2022.

“The secretary expressed concern about recent provocative PLA activity around the Taiwan Strait, and he reiterated that the PRC should not use Taiwan’s political transition – part of a normal, routine democratic process – as a pretext for coercive measures,” Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said in a statement after the meeting.

He was referring to the People’s Liberation Army and the People’s Republic of China.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali. Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)