SINGAPORE -- U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Saturday warned of "growing coercion" from Beijing on Taiwan, and said that while American policy toward the self-governing island has not changed, the same cannot be said for China.
"We've witnessed a steady increase in provocative and destabilizing military activity near Taiwan," Austin said at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, noting that aircraft from China's People's Liberation Army have been flying near the island in "record numbers" in recent months, "nearly on a daily basis."