SINGAPORE—U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis plans to meet on Oct. 18 in Singapore with his Chinese counterpart amid escalating tensions over China’s purchase of Russian fighter planes and missiles as well as ongoing friction in the South China Sea.
Shortly after Mattis arrived in Singapore on Oct. 17 after a visit to Vietnam, a senior Mattis aide told reporters that the meeting is set to happen on Oct. 18. It comes just weeks after their talks planned for Beijing fell apart.
