A senior US navy chief held a digital assembly along with his Chinese language counterpart on Thursday, the US Protection Division stated.
It was the primary such dialog in additional than a 12 months amid expectations of the restoration of in depth ties between the navy departments of the 2 international locations.
The video convention was the results of an settlement reached final month between President Joe Biden and Chinese language President Xi Jinping to resume navy ties that Beijing severed after then-Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022.
U.S. Air Power Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Workers, and Chinese language Individuals’s Liberation Military (PLA) Gen. Liu Zhenli addressed “a variety of worldwide and regional safety points” throughout their talks, Brown’s workplace stated.
Liu is the chief of the Joint Workers of the Central Navy Fee (CMC), the navy physique liable for China’s fight operations and navy planning.
Pentagon officers say communication between the 2 militaries is vital to stopping potential incidents from escalating into battle.
“Basic Brown mentioned the significance of working collectively to responsibly handle competitors, keep away from miscalculation, and keep open and direct traces of communication,” Brown’s workplace stated. “Basic Brown reiterated the significance of the Individuals’s Liberation Military partaking in substantive dialogue to cut back the probability of misunderstandings.”
Brown stated he despatched Liu a welcoming letter final month saying he was open to a gathering.
In keeping with an official assertion from China’s Ministry of Protection late Thursday, Liu responded that the important thing to growing a wholesome, steady and sustainable navy relationship between the US and China is to “perceive China accurately.”
U.S. officers have warned that even with some restoration of navy communications, establishing actually useful dialogue between the 2 sides could take time.
Some analysts consider China is looking for an ambiguous protection relationship the place Beijing can restrict what the PLA sees as U.S. navy provocations within the area.
Washington and Beijing disagree on many points, from the way forward for a democratically ruled Taiwan to territorial claims within the South China Sea.
Diplomatic relations are nonetheless being restored after the US shot down a suspected Chinese language spy balloon in February.
On the Taiwan difficulty, which China considers an inner matter, Liu stated the Chinese language navy will “resolutely defend the nationwide sovereignty and territorial integrity of the nation, together with the island.”
Liu additionally known as on the US to respect China’s territorial sovereignty in addition to China’s maritime rights and pursuits within the South China Sea.