US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gives a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. Reuters
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gives a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. Reuters
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gives a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. Reuters
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin gives a press briefing at the Pentagon in Washington. Reuters

Lloyd Austin brands China as ‘only competitor’ to US on world stage


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

China is America's “only competitor” in the international arena, while Russia presents an “acute threat” to US interests, Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin said on Thursday.

“The PRC [People’s Republic of China] is the only competitor out there with both the intent to reshape the international order and increasingly the power to do so,” Mr Austin said.

The Pentagon chief had been speaking at a briefing to unveil the first National Defence Strategy document for President Joe Biden's administration.

In the document, rivalry with China took centre stage, becoming one of the Pentagon's top priorities.

“My team and I have been laser-focused on this issue since day one,” the US defence chief said.

In contrast, Mr Austin called Russia “an acute threat” but not a US competitor.

“Unlike China, Russia can’t systemically challenge the United States over the long term,” he said.

“But Russian aggression does pose an immediate and sharp threat to our interests and values.”

However, the US defence chief called Russia’s invasion a “reckless war of choice against Ukraine” and “the worst threat to European security since the end of World War II”.

At the same time, Mr Austin said the US has “not seen anything to indicate that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has made a decision to use a dirty bomb”.

He was referring to recent concerns raised by Russia that Ukraine was planning to use a “dirty bomb” — an explosive containing radioactive material. Russia's rhetoric on the issue led to fears Moscow could be planning to initiate a false flag operation in Ukraine that would allow it to use its own dirty bomb.

The 80-page National Defence Strategy document described the conflict with China as “neither inevitable nor desirable”, and warned against Beijing's expanded influence in the Indo-Pacific, stressing the need to prevent it from exercising “dominance of key regions”.

As to the Middle East, Mr Austin said it is the Iranian threat that is the centre of concerns.

“Iran is moving ahead on its nuclear programme, supporting dangerous armed proxies and even exporting drones that Russia is using to terrorise Ukrainian civilians,” he said.

The document on Thursday is the first strategy released since the US ended its 20-year war in Afghanistan in August of last year.

The new review calls for increased research and development on cutting-edge technologies — including hypersonic weapons — as well as cyber, artificial intelligence and directed energy.

On Thursday, China called on the US to respect its interests and concerns before reopening military communications that were halted in August in response to US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.

China’s defence ministry spokesman Tan Kefei said the US must prove themselves to be consistent in several areas to allow military channels to return to normal.

“If the US side wants to improve military communication between China and the US, then it should match words with deeds, demonstrate its sincerity, and earnestly respect China’s interests and major concerns, and remove the negative factors that impede the development of ties between the two militaries,” Mr Tan told The South China Morning Post.

Mr Austin met his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Singapore earlier this month and said the two sides had agreed that open communications were important.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Ultra processed foods

- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns 

- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;

- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces

- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,

- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.

Sui Dhaaga: Made in India

Director: Sharat Katariya

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav

3.5/5

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Date Started: May 2015

Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Laundry

Employees: 170

Funding: about $8m

Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures

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1. Fasting

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4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

David Haye record

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Wins: 28
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Losses: 4

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Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh149,900

Scoreline

UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia

UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’

Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’

Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)

Key facilities
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Price, base: Dh708,750

Engine: 1.5L three-cylinder petrol, plus 11.6 kWh lithium-ion battery

Transmission: Six-speed automatic

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Fuel economy, combined: 2.0L / 100km

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Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Bio

Born in Dibba, Sharjah in 1972.
He is the eldest among 11 brothers and sisters.
He was educated in Sharjah schools and is a graduate of UAE University in Al Ain.
He has written poetry for 30 years and has had work published in local newspapers.
He likes all kinds of adventure movies that relate to his work.
His dream is a safe and preserved environment for all humankind. 
His favourite book is The Quran, and 'Maze of Innovation and Creativity', written by his brother.

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Empty Words

By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

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5.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,000m; Winner: Midlander, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
  • 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
  • 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
  • 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
Updated: October 27, 2022, 6:58 PM`