Siem Reap, Cambodia | The US and China look likely to resume the regular high-level military dialogues cancelled after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s controversial visit to Taiwan in August, to ensure competition between the two superpowers does not lead to full-blown conflict.

The prospect of a resumption in the talks came during a 90-minute meeting on Tuesday between US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, General Wei Fenghe, on the sidelines of the first in-person ASEAN defence ministers meeting since 2019.