US defense chief Lloyd Austin says China muscling neighbors, plundering resources in Pacific

[maritime militias] ," Austin said in a keynote speech to the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia's premier defense conference. "The PRC's moves threaten to undermine security, and stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific," Austin said, using the acronym to refer to the country by its official name, the People's Republic of China. [Taiwan] , dangerously intercepting the patrol planes of US allies, and illegal fishing operations that "plunder the region's provisions." Taiwan played a key role in Austin's address, as it did during a bilateral meeting between Austin and Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe on Friday evening. During that meeting, both sides…