Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told his Chinese counterpart Tuesday that U.S. forces will continue to fly and sail in international waters, including the disputed South China Sea.
Mr. Austin spoke to Adm. Dong Jun, the Chinese defense minister, via video call. It’s the first time Mr. Austin has spoken to the Chinese defense minister since November 2022, Pentagon officials said.
During their conversation, Mr. Austin urged the Chinese admiral to follow through on a commitment by Chinese President Xi Jinping to resume talks between Chinese regional military commanders and their American counterparts.
Few details were provided about the conversation. In its statement, the Pentagon said Mr. Austin “underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.”
“The secretary also reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate — safely and responsibly — wherever international law allows,” the Pentagon said.
“The department will continue to engage in active discussions with PRC counterparts about future engagements between defense and military officials at multiple levels,” the statement said, using the acronym for People’s Republic of China.
A senior Pentagon official who briefed reporters in advance of the meeting said the video call was the first between the defense secretary and Chinese defense minister in about 18 months.
“This is this is an important priority for us,” the official said of the call. “And these engagements provide us with opportunities to prevent competition from veering into conflict by speaking candidly about our concerns.”
Tensions remain high in the South China Sea, where Chinese naval and coast guard ships have stepped up activities aimed at the Philippines, a key American ally in the region.
Beijing’s forces have been harassing and firing water cannons at Filipino resupply boats near Second Thomas Shoal in the Spratly islands. The shoal is the location of a grounded Filipino naval ship that is serving as a small military base that China wants removed.
China claims about 90% of the South China Sea as its own maritime territory, a position rejected by the U.S. and an international tribunal.
The U.S. and other regional states regard the waterway as international waters. U.S. Navy warships conduct regular operations in the sea called freedom of navigation operations.
Adm. John Aquilino, the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, recently told Congress that if the incidents turn more violent and Philippines personnel are killed in the Chinese encounters, then the U.S.-Philippines defense treaty could be triggered.
Against that backdrop, Mr. Austin told the Chinese minister Tuesday that military-to-military communications are important in reducing the risks of conflict.
China’s military cut off all communications with the U.S. following the visit to Taiwan in August 2022 by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Talks resumed following a summit in California between President Biden and Mr. Xi last November.
Since the summit, officials from the two nations’ militaries have had several conversations, including defense policy talks in January and a meeting of a military maritime consultative group.
Air Force Gen. Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke to a PLA general in December as part of the renewed discussions.
On talks with regional Chinese commanders, Adm. Aquilino has testified to Congress that he made several offers to speak with PLA commanders for the eastern and southern commands. But those requests were ignored.
Those military commands are in charge of military operations in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, respectively.
Other regional and global security issues raised during the talks included the Russian war on Ukraine and recent provocations by North Korea.
Mr. Austin also told Adm. Dong that the U.S. remains committed to its longstanding “One China policy.”
The resumption of direct talks between U.S. and Chinese military officials may be a positive step, but there are still many outstanding issues between the two sides. Some of the key issues include the dangers of military escalation in the South China and across the Taiwan Strait, the senior Pentagon official said, noting China remains the Pentagon’s “pacing challenge.”
Since the November summit, China has halted what the Pentagon calls unsafe and unprofessional aerial intercepts of U.S. and allied surveillance aircraft.
“We have, however, seen behavior that risks escalation, very coercive behavior toward the Philippines in the maritime domain particularly around Second Thomas Shoal,” the U.S. official said.
The official said military talks contribute to deterring China by giving Chinese leaders “a clear understanding of our positions on all the regional and global security issues.”
“Likewise, obviously, it’s an opportunity for them to convey their positions to us, and I think that the secretary will be clear and direct in the messages he has for them at all the topics that we’re going to talk about,” the official said.
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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