US, China hold military talks in Hawaii
U.S. and Chinese
defence officials met this week for the first time in nearly two years to talk
about unsafe and aggressive incidents between the two militaries’ ships and
aircraft in the Pacific region.
The talks, which ran
from Wednesday through Thursday in Hawaii, mark the restart of a dialogue
Beijing abruptly ended following then-House of Representatives Speaker Nancy
Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, a self-governing island that China claims as its own.
Chinese officials
have criticized U.S. support for Taiwan as interference.
U.S. officials said
the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working group reviewed
safety-related events over the last few years and discussed ways to sustain
operational safety and professionalism between China and the United States.
“We've observed a
reduction in unsafe behaviour between us and PLA [People’s Liberation Army]
aircraft and vessels over the last several months, so we're encouraged by
that,” one U.S. official told reporters on the condition of anonymity because
they lacked authorization to discuss the meetings before their conclusion.
“The United States
will continue to operate safely and professionally in the Indo-Pacific wherever
international law allows, and we take this responsibility seriously. Open,
direct and clear communications with the PLA — and with all other military
forces in the region — is of utmost importance to avoid accidents and
miscommunication,” the head of the U.S. delegation, Army Colonel Ian Francis,
said in a press release.
Last November U.S.
President Joe Biden met with his Chinese counterpart on the sidelines of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco. The first senior
military-to-military contact since Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan was made about a
month later, when the top U.S. military officer, General CQ Brown, spoke with
his Chinese counterpart in a video call.
Officials said this
week's meetings included about 18 senior officials from each side.
Beijing has asserted
its desire to control access to the South China Sea and bring Taiwan under its
control, by force if necessary. Biden has said U.S. troops would defend the
democratic island from attack.
Following Pelosi’s
visit to Taiwan in August 2022, China’s military has surged aggressive actions
around the island — repeatedly crossing the median line in the Taiwan Strait
with its warships and aircraft — and firing missiles both over Taiwan and into
Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Ely Ratner, the
assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific affairs, testified in October
2023 that there had been more than 180 reckless intercepts of U.S. military
aircraft by Chinese aircraft in the past two years, more intercepts than U.S.
officials had seen in the entire decade before that.
“And when you take
into account cases of coercive and risky PLA intercepts against other states,
the number increases to nearly 300 cases against U.S., allied and partner
aircraft over the last two years,” Ratner said.
In one of the
instances, a Chinese pilot flew within 3 meters (9.8 feet) of a U.S. Air Force
B-52 in international airspace over the South China Sea.
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