China-U.S. Defense Ministries to Restore Communication
Date: 2023-12-01 Author: Dima Zakharov Categories: WORLD
China and the United States have reached a consensus to revive communication on various levels between their defense departments. This includes re-establishing communication lines, security consultations, bilateral military-naval safety discussions, and direct lines of communication between neighboring military districts.
The defense authorities of both countries are currently in discussions to finalize the parameters for restarting these dialogues. This positive development comes after a period of suspended communication initiated by Beijing in response to a controversial visit by the then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan in August of the previous year.
Chinese military officials express their readiness to engage in exchanges and cooperation based on principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial collaboration. They aim to contribute to the reliable and stable development of contacts between the defense departments of the two nations.
Despite successful negotiations between the Biden administration and China to restore most high-level dialogue formats over the past year, military communication has remained a sticking point. Beijing insisted on the cancellation of U.S. sanctions against the former Chinese Defense Minister, Li Shangfu, as a precondition for resuming such talks.
In October, Li was relieved of his position as defense minister, but a successor has yet to be appointed. Following the summit between the leaders of the two countries, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, in San Francisco in November, the U.S. side declared the Pentagon's readiness for talks as soon as Beijing reveals the name of the new defense minister.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that Chinese forces had expelled the U.S. destroyer USS Hopper, which had "illegally entered territorial waters" near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
The defense authorities of both countries are currently in discussions to finalize the parameters for restarting these dialogues. This positive development comes after a period of suspended communication initiated by Beijing in response to a controversial visit by the then-Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, to Taiwan in August of the previous year.
Chinese military officials express their readiness to engage in exchanges and cooperation based on principles of mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, and mutually beneficial collaboration. They aim to contribute to the reliable and stable development of contacts between the defense departments of the two nations.
Despite successful negotiations between the Biden administration and China to restore most high-level dialogue formats over the past year, military communication has remained a sticking point. Beijing insisted on the cancellation of U.S. sanctions against the former Chinese Defense Minister, Li Shangfu, as a precondition for resuming such talks.
In October, Li was relieved of his position as defense minister, but a successor has yet to be appointed. Following the summit between the leaders of the two countries, Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, in San Francisco in November, the U.S. side declared the Pentagon's readiness for talks as soon as Beijing reveals the name of the new defense minister.
The Chinese Ministry of Defense announced on Sunday that Chinese forces had expelled the U.S. destroyer USS Hopper, which had "illegally entered territorial waters" near the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea.
