Biden aims for improved military relations with China
Xi is expected to meet US President on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit;
US President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping are expected to agree Wednesday to restore some military-to-military communications between their armed forces when they meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
The plan is to revive the regular talks under what’s known as the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which until 2020 had been used to improve safety in the air and sea, said a US official, who requested anonymity to preview the leaders’ expected announcement.
US military leaders have expressed repeated concerns about the lack of communications with China, particularly as the number of unsafe or unprofessional incidents between the two nations’ ships and aircraft has spiked.
According to the Pentagon’s most recent report on China’s military power, Beijing has “denied, cancelled or ignored” military-to-military communications and meetings with the Pentagon for much of last year and this year. The report warns that the lack of such talks “raises the risk of an operational incident or miscalculation spiralling into crisis or conflict”. The US views military relations with China as critical to avoiding any missteps and maintaining a peaceful Indo-Pacific region. Here’s a look at the often fraught relationship between the US and Chinese militaries.
More than 15 years ago, the Defence Department was making progress in a growing effort to improve relations with Beijing as both sides stepped up military activities in the Indo-Pacific. The US was concerned about Beijing’s dramatic and rapid military growth. And China was suspicious of America’s expanding presence in the region.
In an effort to improve transparency and communication, defense leaders from the two countries were meeting regularly.
And in a 2008 speech in Singapore, then-Defence Secretary Robert Gates noted that relations with China had improved, and that a long-sought direct telephone link between the US and China had finally
been established.