Top US, China military officers speak for first time in a year

Top US, China military officers speak for first time in a year
By W.G. DUNLOP
Washington (AFP) Dec 21, 2023

Top US military officer General Charles "CQ" Brown spoke with China's General Liu Zhenli on Thursday, a spokesman said, after a more than year-long halt to high-level defense talks between the two countries.

China stopped the talks in late 2022 to express its displeasure over a visit by then-US House speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan, but leaders of the two countries agreed to resume them when they met last month.

Brown -- the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff -- "discussed the importance of working together to responsibly manage competition, avoid miscalculations, and maintain open and direct lines of communication," spokesman Captain Jereal Dorsey said in a statement.

He "reiterated the importance of the People's Liberation Army engaging in substantive dialogue to reduce the likelihood of misunderstandings," the statement said, referring to China's military.

The two military leaders also "discussed a number of global and regional security issues" during their video teleconference.

Beijing reacted furiously to Pelosi's August 2022 visit to Taiwan, scrapping cooperation with Washington on key issues including climate change, anti-drug efforts and military talks, and launching its largest-ever war games around the island.

China claims Taiwan as its territory and has vowed to bring the island under its control one day, by force if necessary, and bristles at any official contact between Taipei and foreign governments.

- 'Stabilizing' relations -

Taiwan lives under the constant fear of a Chinese invasion, and Beijing has stepped up its rhetoric and military activity in recent years.

Tensions between Washington and Beijing were stoked further during 2023 by issues including an alleged Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over US airspace after traversing the country, a meeting between Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen and Pelosi's successor Kevin McCarthy, and American military aid for Taipei.

US President Joe Biden met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in California last month for their first summit in a year, at which they agreed to restore the military-to-military communications and ease tensions between the two sides.

Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder described Thursday's call between Brown and Liu as a "positive development," saying that "we're clearly working here to implement what was announced" by Xi and Biden in November.

"When you have two large militaries, it's imperative that we keep lines of communication open in order to prevent miscalculation," Ryder said.

While high-level military-to-military ties between the United States and China had been cut off, other top American officials were still in communication with Beijing, and lower-level military talks continued.

But the "resumption of regular and higher-level communications between the two militaries will contribute to stabilizing US-China relations," said Bonny Lin, the director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies China Power Project, following the November agreement on the talks.

"At the very minimum, it provides a forum for both sides to address concerns and potentially reduce misunderstandings," Lin said.