US and Chinese defense officials held policy coordination talks at the Pentagon on January 8 and January 9— the first such in-person meetings since before the coronavirus pandemic, Report informs referring to Bloomberg.
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Michael Chase met at the Pentagon with Major General Song Yanchao, deputy director of China’s Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, according to a Defense Department spokesman.
Chase emphasized the importance of maintaining contacts between Washington and Beijing to avoid potentially dangerous miscalculations, according to Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners.
He stressed the need for safe operations in the Indo-Pacific region and said “the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate safely and responsibly wherever international law allows” and affirmed American commitments to regional and global allies.
According to the Pentagon’s summary of the talks, Chase also urged respect for international law governing freedom of navigation “in light of repeated PRC harassment against lawfully operating Philippine vessels in the South China Sea,” a reference to the People’s Republic of China, the country’s formal name.
Chase and Song discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine and North Korea’s “recent provocations,” and Chase restated the US commitment to its one-China policy and “peace and stability across” the Taiwan Strait.
State broadcaster China Central Television said in a report that China reiterated in the talks that was willing to pursue healthy and stable military ties with the US on the basis of equality and respect.
It also urged the US to address China’s concerns, stressing it will not compromise on Taiwan. The US should also reduce “provocative actions” in the South China Sea, “strictly rein in frontline troops, and stop exaggerating and hyping up” the issue of maritime and airspace safety, CCTV said.
The policy coordination talks are meant to be held annually, but were canceled by Beijing following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in August 2022.
