he United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd AustinHe said this on Saturday at a forum in Singapore Which Harassment to which the Philippines was subjected in the South Seawhere is he Philippine government Maintains a dispute over sovereignty with China system“It's dangerous.”

That's how it was expressed Austin in it Shangri-La DialogueThe most important defense forum in Asiahighlighting the growing military support for United State To its partners, including Filipinoto guarantee Respect international law and freedom of navigation in the Indo-Pacific region.

“We all share the desire for the South Sea to be open and free“Said the American minister, who criticized countries that use force to impose themselves, without explicitly stating this Chinawhose ships used water cannons against Philippine ships in the disputed waters of the aforementioned sea.

Austin Celebrate “courage.” Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.This is done by defending his country's sovereign rights in the disputed waters with Beijing regime Subordinate South Sea He stressed that The joint defense alliance between the two countries is “really strong”.

However, the Minister of Defense stressed that his country supports dialogue in the region to ensure this Freedom of navigation on sea and sky Avoid situations that are “out of control.”

This was stated by the United States High Representative The various alliances formed by the North American country in the Indo-Pacific region prevent any country from “imposing its will.”.

“We are driven by a common vision that unites us and works to prevent one country from imposing its will. He pointed out that “there is no harassment, but rather freedom of choice for sovereign states.” Austin.

In most of his speech, the secretary avoided explicitly referring to ChinaBut in the end, he mentioned the Asian giant to stress the importance of using dialogue channels to address problems in the region.

China and Washington They maintain disagreements over autonomy and their status Taiwanthat it Chinese government It is considered a rebellious province that does not rule out invasion, and Freedom of navigation in the South Seawhich is almost entirely claimed by the Chinese authorities, among other things.

United State Driving Okos Alliancenext to Australia And United kingdomand the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD)next to India and Japan And Australiaamong other alliances in Indo-Pacific oceans.

Lloyd Austin also stated that he is “open to further talks with China,” after his meeting with his Chinese counterpart. Dong JoonWith the aim of reducing tension between the two countries.

“As leading forces, it is important to work together to avoid and reduce miscalculations and misunderstandings. Not all conversations will be easy, but we have to talkAustin noted during his participation in the Shangri-La Security Dialogue Forum.

The American representative stressed that “the key is that we talk and while we talk we can identify problems (…) We can only do that through dialogue and keeping communication channels open.”

Today, Friday, the Defense Ministers of the United States and China held their first military meeting at this level between the powers in a year and a half, which strengthens bilateral dialogue despite mutual accusations regarding… Taiwan, Gaza and Ukraine.

Austin and Dong discussed these and other issues for about 75 minutes, that is, longer than expected, before the start of the aforementioned defense forum, which is the most important in Asia, and which the Chinese official intends to speak at on Sunday.

In a conciliatory tone, the Defense Minister on Friday stressed on several occasions during his shift that dialogue between countries has “no alternative” when it comes to calming tensions, and that if his Chinese counterpart calls him, “he will always answer the phone.”

(With information from EFE)