FACE OFF ON TAIWAN: The two defense chiefs met privately face-to-face in Singapore on the sidelines of the Shangri-La defense conference Friday, and then came out swinging in public speeches over the weekend.

It was the first in-person meeting between American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe as tensions rise between the U.S. and China over Beijing’s expansive territorial claims in the South China Sea and the future of Taiwan, which China vows to “reunite” with the Chinese mainland.