BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – America and China held theatre-level commander talks for the primary time on Tuesday, Chinese language authorities mentioned, as the 2 nations look to stabilise army ties and forestall army misunderstandings.
Washington seeks to open new channels of normal army communication with Beijing since ties sank to a historic low after the US downed a suspected Chinese language surveillance balloon final 12 months.
Admiral Sam Paparo, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, held a video phone name along with his counterpart Wu Yanan of the Southern Theater Command of the Individuals’s Liberation Military (PLA).
Either side had an “in depth exchange of views on issues of common concern,” the Chinese language defence ministry mentioned in a readout.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The decision adopted a gathering in Beijing final month between U.S. Nationwide Safety Adviser Jake Sullivan and Chinese language chief Xi Jinping’s main army adviser, in search of such talks.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s areas of accountability embody the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, two hotspots for regional stress which might be flashpoints in U.S.-China ties.
Most two-way army engagements have been suspended for nearly two years after Nancy Pelosi, then the speaker of the U.S. Home of Representatives, visited Taiwan in August 2022.
Final week Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China, mentioned he was nervous by “the aggressive nature” of its army buildup and its navy’s intimidating behaviour in direction of U.S. allies the Philippines and Japan.
“I certainly worry about an unintended conflict between our military forces, an accident, an accidental collision,” he advised the journal International Coverage in an internet interview.
America plans to ship a senior Pentagon official to a serious safety discussion board in China later this week.
