A meeting of defense leaders in Laos took place on Thursday, and included Southeast Asian defense chiefs, China, the United States and other partner nations. Despite China and the US both being in Laos for the meeting,

Al Jazeera looks back at the most devastating period in Laos’s history, when the US waged a years-long ‘Secret War’.

Chinese Minister of National Defense Dong Jun declined to meet with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin due to the recent U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, China’s MND said Thursday. Austin reached out to meet with his Chinese counterpart while at the Association of South East Asian Defense Ministers meeting and ASEAN defense ministers’ meeting-plus summits held Wednesday through Thursday in Vientiane,

China pointed to a recent U.S. sale of weapons to Taiwan as the rationale behind the decision to decline the meeting.

Representatives from the US, China, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea met their Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) counterparts Thursday in Laos for an annual meeting of defense chiefs from the bloc. The meeting kicked off Wednesday in Vientiane under the chairmanship of Laos, with meetings held on the sidelines of the event.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin gave an impassioned defense of women in combat on Tuesday following Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the Department of Defense, arguing that the United States "should not have women in combat roles.

Many Southeast Asian nations are looking for assurances from the U.S. before President-elect Donald Trump's return to power in January.

China's defense minister declined a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during a meeting of defense leaders in Laos, a move the Pentagon chief said on