China-US military channels frozen, with no sign of a thaw: Pentagon
- Defence official accuses Beijing of turning communications ‘on and off like a light switch’ for political reasons
- Beijing denies dialogue has stopped while Washington says more openness would reduce risk of military escalation
US assistant secretary of defence for Indo-Pacific security affairs Ely Ratner said there is still no sign of a resumption in military communication between Beijing and Washington.
“We have been brutally consistent … in saying again and again the United States seeks open lines of communication with [China]. They have turned those on and off like a light switch for political reasons,” he said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Military officials from both sides met in Fiji in August, although neither country released details. Chinese defence ministry spokesman and Senior Colonel Wu Qian confirmed the meeting, and said military-to-military communication “has not stopped”.
Both sides had maintained “candid and effective communication” through military and diplomatic channels, he said.
But there has been no official meeting between the US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart since General Li Shangfu stepped into the role in March.
China defence chief made strong Shangri-La debut but one meeting got away
China suspended three main communication channels with the US in August last year, after then House speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which Beijing has vowed to bring under mainland control, by force if necessary.
Most countries, including the US, do not recognise Taiwan as an independent state. Washington, however, opposes any attempt to take the island by force.
According to Ratner, Washington’s offers to restart communications have been rejected by Beijing because of US sanctions against its top military officials, including Li.
Ratner said open dialogue could help to avoid an escalation of military confrontations, pointing to the backchannels opened by the US and Soviet Union after the Cuban missile crisis to avoid accidental conflict.
He stressed that the increased missile launches over Taiwan and frequency of PLA military exercises since Pelosi’s visit last summer increased the risk of a potential crisis in the region.
“It’s dangerous, and the PLA has got to knock it off. The question for [China] is: do we have to wait to have such a dangerous crisis before they realise the benefits of that kind of engagement? … Our hope is not,” Ratner said.
02:36
Mainland China launches military drill near Taiwan in ‘severe warning to separatist forces’
Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said last week that Chinese and US officials met during the Chiefs of Defence Conference in Fiji, which brought together senior military leaders from 27 countries throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
The US delegation was led by Admiral John Aquilino, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, according to Ryder. Wu, the Chinese defence ministry spokesman, said PLA officials were headed by General Xu Qiling, deputy chief of staff in the Joint Staff Department of China’s top defence command body, the Central Military Commission.
“We’re going to continue to do everything we can do on our part, to maintain open lines of communication to reduce the potential for miscalculation,” Ryder said.
While Beijing and Washington have ramped up their military activities in the region, there is no sign that the communication channels will be revived soon, despite the growing instability in the regional security environment.
US officials see diplomatic progress, decry weak military dialogue with China
In addition to the intensifying US-China rivalry and tensions across the Taiwan Strait, North Korea has been increasing its missile launches, adding to concerns of a mishap sparked by a failure to communicate.
In August, the PLA held a joint naval and air force exercise near Taiwan to review its combat capability and serve as a “a severe warning to Taiwan separatists for their collusion with foreign forces and provocations”.
The drill took place a day after William Lai Ching-te – the island’s Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate – returned from a trip to Paraguay, which included a stopover in the US.
Also last month, the US deployed its strategic B-1B bomber to the region in a joint military drill with South Korea and Japan.
The three countries have been increasing their defence ties, most notably at a trilateral summit in mid-August at Camp David where they pledged to regularise military exercises between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington.