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Transcript/Script((PLAYBOOK SLUG: US CHINA SHANGRI-LA PREVIEW
HEADLINE: Senior US, China Defense Leaders to Meet, Amid Fraying Ties
TEASER: Taiwan likely to be a focus of the meeting in Singapore
PUBLISHED AT: Thursday, 6/9/22 at 6:05 am
BYLINE: William Gallo
CONTRIBUTOR: VOA Mandarin Service
DATELINE: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
VIDEOGRAPHER:
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: wpm, Steve Hirsch
VIDEO SOURCES: AP, Reuters, AFP, Zoom, Skype
PLATFORMS: WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 2:07
VID APPROVED BY: wpm
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE: ))
((INTRO)) [[U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet his Chinese counterpart this week at a defense forum in Singapore. The meeting will be a rare face-to-face encounter between senior U.S. and Chinese officials. The two sides may not find much common ground amid fraying relations, as VOA’s Bill Gallo reports from Seoul, South Korea.]]
((NARRATOR))
The latest sign of U.S.-China tensions. These Chinese and Russian military planes flew late last month near U.S. Asian allies’ airspace …
… while U.S. President Joe Biden was on an Asia trip aimed at countering Beijing.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has only deepened the U.S.-China divide.
Although China has not openly supported Russia’s war, it has pledged closer ties, worrying many in Washington.
((Joseph Bosco, Former Pentagon Official))
“It's identifying with a very aggressive country, and the United States worries that that's the way China wants to approach the situation in Taiwan as well – use brute force to achieve its objectives.”
((NARRATOR))
China views democratic Taiwan as part of its own territory. It threatens to take it by force.
Biden has promised the United States would defend Taiwan if China invades, raising fears of a superpower conflict.
Taiwan will be a major focus when Austin meets his Chinese counterpart in Singapore this week, although analysts say the meeting is unlikely to result in any progress.
((Lim Tai Wei, Adjunct Sr. Research Fellow, National University of Singapore))
“The Taiwan issue is possibly the issue with the greatest divergence between the two superpowers.”
((NARRATOR))
The United States and China have both increased their shows of military might in the region surrounding Taiwan. Many other countries fear they could be drawn into a major conflict.
((Lim Tai Wei, Adjunct Sr. Research Fellow, National University of Singapore))
“Most in the region prefer to have incremental steps in turning down the temperature, knowing that it is not possible to resolve such a complicated issue – at least find some common points where they can at least find the atmosphere much more conducive for talks.”
((NARRATOR))
There are some areas of possible U.S.-China cooperation, including climate change and the North Korean nuclear issue, but with ties in their current state, the space for working together may be small.
((Bill Gallo. VOA News. Seoul, South Korea.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateJune 9, 2022 06:15 EDT
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
