A major defense summit has begun in Singapore with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defense General Wei Fenghe. This is Austin’s fourth trip to the indo-pacific region after a formal request from China’s military leadership. 

The summit is expected to only last 30 minutes and is the first time Austin and Wei have met in person. The United States is hoping to establish lines of communication to avoid conflict between the two powers, both at a high level of the military and between commanders. The US has spoken out against China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific region around the South China Sea and Taiwan and China has spoken against America’s support of Taiwan. The conference is expected to be addressed on Saturday morning by Austin and Sunday morning by Wei.

Read more: US and Chinese defense ministers begin meeting in Singapore