SINGAPORE — United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told a gathering of top security officials Saturday that war with China was 'neither imminent nor unavoidable,' despite rapidly escalating tensions in the Asia-Pacific region, stressing the importance of renewed dialogue between him and his Chinese counterpart in avoiding 'miscalculations and misunderstandings.'

Austin's comments at the 21st Institute for Strategic Studies Shangri-La Dialogue came the day after he met for more than an hour on the sidelines with Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun, the first in-person meeting between the top defense officials since contacts between the American and Chinese militaries broke down in 2022 after then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, infuriating Beijing.