US-China Handshake Fails to Stem Fears of Conflict in Asia

Singapore warns a simultaneous war would be ‘catastrophic’
China, US fundamentally disagree over Taiwan, global rules

WATCH: US military video shows a Chinese navy ship cutting sharply across the path of an American destroyer in in the Taiwan Strait.Source: US Department of Defense via AP

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By Rebecca Choong Wilkins, Philip Heijmans, and Josh Xiao

June 4, 2023 at 11:00 AM UTC

Updated on

June 4, 2023 at 11:30 PM UTC

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A highly anticipated defense forum in Singapore kicked off with a friendly handshake between Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu. It ended Sunday with few other signs of optimism that the world’s biggest economies could avoid an eventual collision.