 "US, China agree to set up military channels 'to deconflict': Hegseth says ties have 'never been better'")
US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth joined hands with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, to create US-China military communication systems. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Hegseth noted that the move is aimed at preventing disagreements or misunderstandings from spiralling into unintended conflict in the Indo-Pacific.
In the post on Saturday, Hegseth mentioned that he had spoken with Dong on both Thursday and Friday on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting-PLUS in Malaysia about the need for “peace, stability, and good relations” between the US and China. “Admiral Dong and I also agreed that we should set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and de-escalate any problems that arise,” Hegseth said.
The American defence secretary added that the US and China relations had “never been better” and that US President Donald Trump’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in South Korea on Thursday “set the tone for everlasting peace and success for the U.S. and China.”
A surprising move
Hegseth’s recent proclamation came in contrast to his warning at the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ summit. At that time, he said that “China’s sweeping territorial and maritime claims in the South China Sea." “We must ensure that China is not seeking to dominate you or anybody else,” Hegseth added.
In the Saturday statement, Hegseth said that he and Dong will hold follow-up meetings to flesh out the details of such ties. The US-China military communications channels hold significance given the rising friction across the Taiwan Strait and China’s aggressive naval challenges to Philippine vessels in Manila’s waters in the South China Sea.
After his meeting with Hegseth, Dong told reporters that Beijing sees value in forging such links. During his talks, he told his American counterpart that the US and China should create “a military-to-military relationship based on equality and respect, peaceful coexistence, and stable, positive development,” China’s Defence Ministry said in a statement Friday.
Quick Reads
View AllThe United States has long struggled to foster reliable military-to-military communications with China. Beijing cut off all US-China military dialogues after then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip in 2022. The Biden administration had managed to persuade Beijing to resume key military dialogues by the end of 2024 that connected high-level military officials in discussions on issues of mutual concern.
However, it is unclear how much of the Biden administration’s efforts have continued under Trump, and the Defence Department last month declined to provide details about current US-China military communications. Interestingly, Hegseth’s pursuit of such links comes as the Pentagon prepares to release the National Defence Strategy in the coming weeks. With this move, the American strategy will likely shift focus away from countering China and instead focus on domestic and regional missions.
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