“The military sphere is the key… to stabilizing the development of the relationship and preventing major crises from occurring,” Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun informs his US colleague Lloyd Austin.
In the first meaningful discussions between Beijing and Washington’s defense commanders in almost 18 months, China’s defense minister reportedly urged for increased “trust” between the two cities.
According to a Beijing readout, Dong Jun told his US counterpart Lloyd Austin on Tuesday that “China and the United States should… take peace as the most precious, stability as the most important,” and that they should “gradually build up mutual trust between the two militaries”.
“The military sphere is the key… to stabilising the development of the relationship and preventing major crises from occurring,” Dong stated.
The head of defense stated that Presidents Xi Jinping and Joe Biden are “committed to promoting the stabilization and improvement of bilateral relations.” Additionally, he forewarned the US about Taiwan, which Beijing claims is its breakaway territory and will eventually be unified with mainland China.
According to the briefing from the Defense Ministry, “Dong Jun emphasised that the Taiwan issue is the core of China’s core interests.”
He issued a warning, saying that the Chinese military “will never sit idly by all ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities” or “external connivance and support” for it.
In addition, he asked the US to recognize Beijing’s nearly total claims to the South China Sea, where hostilities have recently erupted.
“The US side should recognise China’s firm position, respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the South China Sea, and take practical actions to safeguard regional peace,” Dong stated.
Keeping the tension high
In an effort to offset China’s influence, the US has been stepping its defense cooperation with its allies in the Asia-Pacific area. At the same time, however, the US wants to keep lines of communication open with Beijing in case tensions get out of hand.
The Pentagon stated in a statement that “the two officials discussed US-PRC defense relations and regional and global security issues,” referring to China.
Following previous conversations between the two sides, “Secretary Austin emphasised the importance of continuing to open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC” according to the statement.
Beijing and Washington disagree on a number of issues, chief among them being Taiwan, which China has stated it will not rule out using force to annex.
After US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island in August 2022, Beijing withdrew its cooperation with the US on a number of issues, including defense talks. However, at a summit in November, US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping decided to pick up where their conversations left off.
SOURCE: TRTWORLD
