Washington.-The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, and his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, spoke this Tuesday by videoconference for the first time in a year and a half, the Pentagon reported, a sign of their intention to maintain the dialogue despite the tensions.
“The two officials discussed defense relations between the United States and the PRC and regional and global security issues,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
The United States has been working to strengthen defense cooperation with its allies in the Asia-Pacific region to counter China’s growing influence, but also wants to maintain lines of communication with Beijing to prevent tensions from spiraling out of control.
“The two officials discussed defense relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China and regional and global security issues,” the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
“Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of continuing to open military-to-military lines of communication between the United States and the People’s Republic of China” following talks between the two sides in recent months, according to the statement.
Austin also “reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows,” and “underscored the importance of respecting the freedom of navigation on the high seas guaranteed by international law, especially in the South China Sea.”
Austin’s last significant interaction with his Chinese counterpart came in November 2022, when he met with Wei Fenghe in Cambodia.
Wei was later replaced by Li Shangfu, who shook hands and spoke briefly with Austin at a defense conference in Singapore last June but did not have a formal meeting with the Pentagon chief.
China was unwilling to accept talks between Austin and Li while the latter was under US sanctions, a senior US defense official told reporters, an obstacle that was removed when Li was replaced by Dong last year.
There are multiple points of contention between Washington and Beijing, especially over Taiwan, the democratic and autonomous island that China claims as part of its territory and that will one day be taken, by force if necessary.
Beijing halted cooperation with the United States on issues such as defense talks in August 2022 to express its displeasure over a visit by then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the island, but the US president, Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed at a summit in November. to discussions regarding the curriculum.
Disputes over the South China Sea, which Beijing claims almost entirely, are another potential flashpoint, with clashes between Chinese and Philippine ships stoking fears of a broader conflict.
The United States has also highlighted multiple incidents in recent years in which it says Chinese fighter jets and ships have operated unsafely around American planes and ships.
Austin has repeatedly emphasized the importance of military-to-military communications as a means of avoiding potential conflict, and there have been several recent interactions between US and Chinese military officials despite tensions between the two sides.
These include talks by top U.S. military officer Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown with his counterpart Gen. Liu Zhenli in December, and talks between military officials from Washington and Beijing this month on security in interactions. among its armed forces.
The Pentagon and China “continue to discuss future engagements between our senior military and defense leaders,” the senior U.S. defense official said, adding: “These engagements provide us with opportunities to prevent competition from turning into conflict by speaking frankly.” regarding our concerns. «Infobae.
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2024-04-21 21:27:30
