A senior US military official yesterday 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 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 (吳亞男), head of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Southern Theater Command, talked via videoconference.
Photo: AFP / Philippine Coast Guard
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.
He also raised “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.
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.
China claims almost all of the economically vital body of water despite competing claims from other nations and an international court ruling that its assertion has no legal basis.
Beijing this month said that it was defending its “rights” in the waters, after the Philippines released footage appearing to show a China Coast Guard vessel ramming one of its ships during an at-sea confrontation.
Beijing’s readout of the talks said that Wu held “an in-depth exchange of views” with his US counterpart.
The two officials discussed “issues of common concern,” it added.
The talks were the first of their kind since China scrapped military communications with the US in 2022 in response to then-US House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan.
Yesterday’s high-level military dialogue between the geopolitical rivals comes on the heels of the first visit to China by a top White House aid since 2016.
US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan visited Beijing last month, where he held talks with senior army official Zhang Youxia (張又俠).
Sullivan’s meeting with Zhang saw the officials agree to hold a call between the two sides’ theater commanders, the White House said.
The top aide also raised the importance of “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea and “stability” in the Taiwan Strait, Washington said.
Zhang, in turn, warned that the status of Taiwan was “the first red line that cannot be crossed in China-US relations.”
“China demands that the US halts military collusion with Taiwan, ceases arming Taiwan and stops spreading false narratives related to Taiwan,” Zhang said.
He also asked the US to “work with China to promote communication and exchanges between the two militaries and jointly shoulder the responsibilities of major powers.”
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
One of two tropical depressions that formed off Taiwan yesterday morning could turn into a moderate typhoon by the weekend, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Tropical Depression No. 21 formed at 8am about 1,850km off the southeast coast, CWA forecaster Lee Meng-hsuan (李孟軒) said. The weather system is expected to move northwest as it builds momentum, possibly intensifying this weekend into a typhoon, which would be called Mitag, Lee said. The radius of the storm is expected to reach almost 200km, she said. It is forecast to approach the southeast of Taiwan on Monday next week and pass through the Bashi Channel
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency as well as long-term residency in Taiwan has decreased, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday, adding that the reduction of Chinese spouses staying or living in Taiwan is only one facet reflecting the general decrease in the number of people willing to get married in Taiwan. The number of Chinese spouses applying for dependent residency last year was 7,123, down by 2,931, or 29.15 percent, from the previous year. The same census showed that the number of Chinese spouses applying for long-term residency and receiving approval last year stood at 2,973, down 1,520,
RSS