AT the just concluded 20th Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, featuring the defense secretaries of the United States, China, Asean and other countries, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin and China's Li Shangfu gave two opposing statements on the emerging conflict between China and the United States that nevertheless seem to create a window of opportunity for peaceful interaction and dialogue. Of course, that window is meaningless unless the parties seize it.

Against China's warning that the creation of NATO-like alliances in the Indo-Pacific could plunge the region into a "whirlpool of disputes and conflicts," Austin said "conflict is neither imminent nor inevitable," and "the whole world has a stake in maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait." A free, open and secure Indo-Pacific "within a world of rules and rights" is needed to secure peace, he said.

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