The head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific command, in the first direct communications in years with a senior Chinese general in charge of regional forces, warned Beijing was engaged in “dangerous” incidents in the South China Sea, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Adm. Sam Paparo held the video teleconference with Gen. Wu Yanan, commander of the People’s Liberation Army southern command, on Monday and urged his forces to abide by international law in the South China Sea. China has made expansive sovereignty claims to the strategic waterway that are rejected by the U.S. and smaller countries around the region.
Monday’s meeting was the first time in more than two years that a regional PLA commander spoke to a commander of the Hawaii-based command, despite repeated efforts to resume direct communications the American side believes will reduce tensions.
Other top U.S. officials have traveled to China in recent weeks in an effort to improve bilateral communications, including U.S. top climate adviser John Podesta and White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who spent three days in talks in Beijing late last month.
The command provided a brief readout of the exchange between Adm. Paparo and Gen. Wu, saying the talks were one result of a tension-relieving meeting in November between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
“Citing several recent PLA unsafe interactions with U.S. allies, [Adm.] Paparo reinforced the PLA’s obligation to comply with international laws and norms to ensure operational safety,” the statement said. “Paparo also urged the PLA to reconsider its use of dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond.”
The Pentagon, under Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, has been pressing the command to resume regular talks with Chinese regional military leaders to “clarify intent” and reduce the risk of a U.S.-China military exchange. The talks between the two commanders were described as “constructive and respectful.”
Adm. Paparo also said he hoped the talks will be the first of many conversations on issues of concern with Gen. Wu and other regional commanders.
The Chinese Defense Ministry issued a one-paragraph statement on the video call, saying only that the two officers “exchanged in-depth views on issues of common concern,” the ministry said.
Gen. Wu was abruptly installed as the new commander for the southern region in July amid clashes between Chinese maritime forces and Philippines vessels. He was previously in charge of PLA forces under the central theater command that is responsible for defending Beijing and was promoted to the rank of general in January.
Beginning around September 2021, the commander of the Indo-Pacific Command has sought to hold discussions with PLA southern command and eastern command leaders and received no response, Adm. John Aquilino, Adm. Paparo’s predecessor, said in March 2023.
The PLA eastern theater command headquarters is based in Jiangsu Province opposite Taiwan and its forces have been conducting large-scale military operations around Taiwan, including near-daily incursions into the unofficial dividing line down the 100-mile-wide Taiwan Strait.
China sharply curtailed military exchanges with the U.S. military beginning in August 2022 to protest the visit to Taiwan by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the island in a quarter-century. The Pentagon under Mr. Austin has repeatedly sought talks with Chinese commanders as part of the Biden administration’s approach of seeking closer communications and easing bilateral tensions.
Last year, China’s defense minister refused to accept a call from Mr. Austin after an F-22 shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon that traveled across the U.S. Mr. Biden pressed Mr. Xi at the summit in California to resume military-to-military talks.
The Pentagon’s most recent annual report on the Chinese military said that in 2022 “the PLA largely denied, cancelled, and ignored recurring bilateral engagements and DoD requests for communication.”
Retired Navy Capt. Jim Fanell, an outspoken critic of U.S. military engagement with China said during congressional testimony in June that “Navy admirals have demonstrated they put more faith in unconstrained engagement than they appear to take when it comes to fighting for the world’s biggest and most powerful navy.”
• Bill Gertz can be reached at bgertz@washingtontimes.com.
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