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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Austin speaks with Chinese counterpart in first at-length conversation
since 2022
By Haley Britzky, CNN
Updated:
10:20 AM EDT, Tue April 16, 2024
Source: CNN
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke on Tuesday morning with
China’s Minister of National Defense Adm. Dong Jun, marking both
Austin’s first call with Dong and his first at-length conversation
with his Chinese counterpart since November 2022.
During their teleconference call, Austin and Dong “discussed U.S.-PRC
defense relations and regional and global security issues,” a news
release said Tuesday morning.
“Secretary Austin underscored the importance of respect for high seas
freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law, especially in
the South China Sea,” the release said. “He also discussed
Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine and expressed concerns about
recent provocations from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
(DPRK). The Secretary also reiterated that the United States remains
committed to our longstanding one China policy, which is guided by the
Taiwan Relations Act, the Three U.S.-China Joint Communiques, and the
Six Assurances, and he reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability
across the Strait.”
Dong, a former naval commander, as China’s defense minister in
December last year. A senior defense official on Monday declined to say
for how long the call between the two had been in planning, but said
they typically “take some time to schedule and prepare for on both
sides.”
The conversation is a result of the between President Joe Biden and
Chinese President Xi Jinping in November, the official said, which
followed months of strained silence between the two countries. In 2023,
China for Austin to meet with his then-counterpart Li Shangfu at the
Shangri-La Dialogue Security Forum in Singapore.
It also comes less than two weeks after US and Chinese military
representatives in Honolulu for the first meeting of its kind in
years after cancellations by China.
“I think that what we’ve seen is the PRC committed to
reestablishing or reopening these lines of communication … The call
between the Secretary and the Minister is another step in that set of
engagements, an important one, but certainly should not be the last
one,” the official said. “I think we’ll have more coming
throughout this year.”
While US officials said last fall that there had been an increase in
unsafe behavior by Chinese pilots against US aircraft in the Pacific,
the senior defense official on Monday said they have not seen that
behavior since November.
“We have, however, seen behavior that risks escalation, very coercive
behavior towards the Philippines and the maritime domain, particularly
around Second Thomas Shoal,” the official said.
In his conversation with Dong on Tuesday, the release said Austin
“reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and
operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law
allows.”
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