US and Chinese defence chiefs hold rare direct talks in Singapore
SINGAPORE: The US and Chinese defence chiefs held rare direct talks in Singapore on Friday, offering hopes for more military dialogue that could help prevent disputes over Taiwan and other flashpoint issues from spinning out of control.The meeting between the United States' Lloyd Austin and China's Dong Jun on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue is the first substantive face-to-face talks between the two countries' defence chiefs in 18 months.Dong and Austin began the talks shortly before 1:00 pm (0500 GMT) at the luxury hotel hosting the security forum, a member of the US delegation told reporters.Defence chiefs and officials from around the world are attending the annual forum that has in recent years become a barometer of US-China relations.