US Defense Secretary Austin expected to meet with Chinese counterpart in Singapore

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is expected to meet with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, at a major defense conference in Singapore next week, the Pentagon announced Friday.

Austin and Dong, China's minister of national defense, are expected to meet during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore next week, an annual meeting of defense ministers and government officials from more than 50 countries.

The meeting also comes, however, as China has engaged in aggressive military drills around Taiwan, resulting in Taiwan scrambling jets and putting missile, naval and land units on alert Thursday.