WASHINGTON, D.C.: This week, U.S. and Chinese defense officials met for the first time in nearly two years to discuss unsafe and aggressive ship and aircraft incidents between the two militaries in the Pacific region.
The meeting, which was held over two days last week in Hawaii, is part of the efforts by Washington and Beijing to improve their communications and ease rising tensions.
Mutual talks stalled in August 2022 when Beijing suspended all such communication after former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan.
However, in November 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping met on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, and about a month later, Gen. CQ Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Chinese counterpart in a video call.
The latest discussions included relaunching routine engagements, including the China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meeting and the bilateral Defense Policy Coordination Talks.
The maritime meeting focused on unsafe and unprofessional incidents involving the U.S. and Chinese militaries, while the coordination talks focused on broader policy issues.
Officials said this week’s meeting involved about 18 senior military and civilian officials from each side.
Colonel Ian Francis, the head of the US delegation and director for Northeast Asia policy at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement, “Open, direct, and clear communications with the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), and with all other military forces in the region, are of the utmost importance to avoid accidents and miscommunication.”
The U.S. is encouraged by the fact that the PLA is honoring its commitments to the maritime agreement.
China has criticized the U.S. for its claims of interference in both Taiwan and the South China Sea, alleging that American arms sales to Taiwan are making the situation more dangerous.
