Chinese and American military commanders hold high-level talks for the first time on Tuesday as the two powers seek to stabilize military ties and avoid misunderstandings over their intensifying rivalry in regional hotspots such as the South China Sea.
Washington seeks to establish new channels of military communication with Beijing since ties hit an all time low when the United States shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February 2023.
US Indo-Pacific Command Adm. Samuel Paparo held a video call with his counterpart, Commander Wu Yanan, of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Southern Theatre Command.
The areas of responsibility include a host of regional hotspots including the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The US also plans to send Michael Chase, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan and Mongolia, to China’s top annual security forum in mid-September, Reuters reported.
Paparo described the talks as “constructive and respectful” and stressed the importance of continued communication to clarify intent and reduce the risk of escalation. In a statement, he urged the PLA to “reconsider its use of dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond.” In August 2022, Beijing severed high-level military communication with the US, following a visit by former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
In an effort to resume communications, both countries agreed to hold the high-level call “in the near future” during a visit from White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan to Beijing late last month.
The continuation of talks come at a vital moment, as tensions escalate in the South China Sea where Chinese and Philippine, a notable US military ally, ships engaged in a series of increasingly concerning confrontations.
China lays claim to almost all of the South China Sea, with overlapping claims made by the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Brunei.
In 2016, the Philippines brought a case against China to an international arbitral tribunal, which ruled in favor of the Philippines, stating that China’s claims had no legal basis. Despite the ruling, China has rejected the decision and continues to assert control over the disputed territory by deploying military vessels.
Analysts have long warned of the potential for violent conflict erupting in the region as a result of miscalculation in the area, especially with a previously absent military communications chain between the world’s two largest economies.