U.S.-China divide looms as Asia security summit begins in Singapore

U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks before a Senate Appropriations hearing on the President's proposed budget request for fiscal year 2024, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on May 16, 2023. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

SINGAPORE – Tense U.S.-relations and an arms build-up in the Pacific region will be on show this weekend as defense chiefs, including from the U.S. and China, gather at the Shangri-La Dialogue, an international defense summit, in Singapore.

The Dialogue, which started Friday, has been overshadowed by China's refusal to let its defense minister meet formally with U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin at the forum. But both countries are still leading large delegations to the summit, which gathers diplomats, academics, defense contractors, journalists, and analysts from around the Pacific region.