Washington, United States—A senior US military official warned his Chinese counterpart against Beijing’s “dangerous” moves in the South China Sea during the first talks of their kind between the commanders.
Washington and Beijing remain at odds on issues from trade to the status of self-ruled Taiwan and China’s increasingly assertive approach in disputed maritime regions.
But they have sought to re-establish regular military-to-military talks in a bid to prevent flashpoint disputes from spinning out of control.
Samuel Paparo, Commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, and Wu Yanan, head of the Chinese army’s Southern Theater Command talked via video call on Tuesday China time.
Paparo “underscored the importance of sustained lines of communication between the US military and the PLA,” a statement from his command said.
“Such discussions between senior leaders serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation,” he said.
But he also raised recent “unsafe interactions with US allies” by the Chinese side.
Paparo “urged the PLA to reconsider its use of dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond,” the statement said, referring to the Chinese military by its official name.
Wu’s Southern Theater Command is responsible for the Beijing military’s activities in the South China Sea, where Chinese vessels have engaged in a series of high-profile confrontations with Philippine ships in recent months.
China claims almost all of the economically vital body of water despite competing claims from other countries and an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
This month, Beijing insisted it was defending its “rights” in the waters, after the Philippines released footage appearing to show a Chinese coast guard vessel ramming one of its ships during an at-sea confrontation.
