Lloyd Austin and Dong Jun speak South China Sea, Taiwan, North Korea and Ukraine in wide-ranging dialogue.
United States Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin and his Chinese language counterpart Dong Jun have held their first substantive talks in practically 18 months as the 2 nations work to revive navy ties.
The 2 spoke by way of videoconference on Tuesday, the Pentagon mentioned in an announcement.
It mentioned Austin “underscored the significance of respect for prime seas freedom of navigation assured below worldwide legislation, particularly within the South China Sea”.
An escalating diplomatic dispute and up to date incidents between China and the Philippines, a US treaty ally, at a disputed shoal have turned the strategically important South China Sea into a possible flashpoint between Washington and Beijing.
China claims the ocean nearly in its entirety whereas Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam declare the areas round their coasts.
A global courtroom dominated in 2016 that China’s nine-dash line, on which Beijing bases its declare, was with out benefit.
“The US aspect ought to recognise China’s agency place, respect China’s territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and pursuits within the South China Sea, and take sensible actions to safeguard regional peace,” Dong was quoted as saying in an announcement by China’s Ministry of Defence.
He additionally warned the US over the democratic island of Taiwan, which Beijing claims as its personal, emphasising it was the “core of China’s core pursuits”.
Austin’s final important interplay with China’s defence minister was in November 2022 when he met Wei Fenghe in Cambodia.
Wei was subsequently changed by Li Shangfu, who shook palms and spoke briefly with Austin at a safety convention in Singapore final June, however steered away from a proper assembly. Li, who was below US sanctions, disappeared from view shortly afterwards and was fired in October. Dong was appointed in December.
Methods to ‘get alongside’
The US and China have been working to enhance a relationship that had grow to be more and more acrimonious over points from Taiwan to the South China Sea, in addition to commerce and human rights.
US President Joe Biden met Chinese language President Xi Jinping in California final November the place they agreed to stabilise the connection and resume navy ties which had been frozen on account of then-US Home of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s go to to Taiwan.
The US’s prime navy common later held discussions together with his Chinese language counterpart and this month, US and Chinese language navy officers met in Hawaii to debate methods the 2 nations may function safely.
China and the US ought to discover methods to “get alongside” and “regularly accumulate mutual belief” by constructing a “non-conflict, non-confrontation”, pragmatic and cooperative relationship between their militaries, Dong was quoted as saying on his name with Austin.
“The navy sphere is the important thing… to stabilising the event of the connection and stopping main crises from occurring,” he mentioned.
Austin additionally confused the necessity to keep open strains of communication to scale back the chance of potential flare-ups or cope with any accidents.
“Secretary Austin emphasised the significance of continuous to open strains of military-to-military communication between the USA and the PRC,” the Pentagon mentioned, utilizing an acronym for the Folks’s Republic of China.
The Pentagon mentioned the 2 males additionally mentioned points together with Russia’s warfare in Ukraine and North Korea.