The commander of US forces in Asia, Admiral Timothy Keating, speaking in Hong Kong this week, said he had reason to believe that Beijing was ready to revive discussions of military exchanges with the US.
Pressed by news correspondents gathered at the US consulate to explain why he thought so, Keating was reluctant to provide details, but said “we are not living in a void.”
He said there had been “indirect but unmistakable forms of communication” through third parties, including visitors to his headquarters in Hawaii, indicating that the Chinese were open to negotiation.
Backed symbolically by the US aircraft carrier John Stennis anchored for a port visit, Keating also met informally with senior officers of China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in garrison in Hong Kong.
The admiral said an initiative was under way to forge an agreement intended to prevent hostile incidents between the US and Chinese warships at sea. The US and the Soviet Union had an agreement during the Cold War that each navy would not train its guns on the other’s warships or fly fighters over each other’s ships. Keating said the new effort was in its earliest stages.
Sino-US military exchanges, which expanded in fits and starts for more than a decade, were abruptly broken off by the Chinese in October after the US announced that it would sell US$6.5 billion in arms to Taiwan. US policy under the Taiwan Relations Act is to provide Taiwan with arms to defend itself.
The impasse appeared to have been broken when US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on the eve of her trip to Asia that the US and China “will resume mid-level military-to-military discussions later this month.”
Clinton’s disclosure caused mild surprise in the Pentagon and at the Pacific Command in Hawaii, where defense officials wondered why such an announcement had not come from Secretary of Defense Robert Gates or Keating, who is responsible for military exchanges with the Chinese. One official shrugged it off as a “rookie mistake” from an administration still getting its feet on the ground.
Keating argued vigorously for a resumption of military dialogue with China, asserting that it would be “very much in our mutual benefit” and would lessen the chances of a confrontation degenerating into a crisis or even into armed conflict.
On a trip through Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea, Keating recalled that a Chinese officer had once suggested that the US and China divide the Pacific Ocean, with China responsible for keeping the peace west of Hawaii while the US was confined to the waters east of Hawaii. Keating said “no thanks.”
Instead, the admiral said, the US and China “should work more together.”
He said three Chinese warships had been patrolling in the Gulf of Aden against pirates. Chinese ship captains often communicated with the commander of a US naval task force in that region, he said.
On the other hand, Keating said, the US and China had a “hotline” for communication and he had used it when the US delivered relief supplies to China after a devastating earthquake.
But, he said, “I don’t have a phone number yet” to call a Chinese officer directly.
Responding to fresh reports that China sought to build four aircraft carriers over the next quarter century, Keating was skeptical.
“It’s not as easy as it looks,” said the naval aviator with 5,000 hours of flight time and 1,200 landings aboard aircraft carriers. “Operating an aircraft carrier is a very demanding discipline.”
“It will take them a long time,” he said, “and it will be harder than they think.”
Richard Halloran is a freelance writer in Honolulu.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath