US-CHINESE MILITARY AIRCRAFT AND SEA PEACE TALKS RESUME AFTER 2-YEAR BREAK


By akirschbaum
Chinese Sailor and American Sailor shaking hands aboard a Chinese military aircraft.

After nearly two years, Chinese and U.S. defense officials officially met this week in Hawaii to discuss the tensions on ship and aircraft incidents in the Pacific region. Along with the discussion, Beijing announced that it had ended a dispute with Taiwan. The meeting aims to create peace talks about the escalating American-Chinese military aircraft and sea tensions. This military-to-military contact had slowed down since 2022 when Beijing decided to suspend all communication after Nancy Pelosi, then-House Speaker, visited Taiwan.Related read: Expressive Writing Therapy Is Healing Vets. Here’s How

Resurgence and Routine Engagements Between U.S.-China

During the November Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco, U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping kicked off the issue. After a month, the first senior military-to-military contact, Gen. CQ Brown, spoke with his Chinese counterpart about the U.S. Chinese military aircraft and sea travel.The talks continued, and earlier this week, Biden and Xi had a call. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen began visiting China on Thursday. It is said that the resurgence of talks includes the relaunch of routine engagements. This includes the discussions on the U.S.-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meeting and the bilateral Defense Policy Coordination Talks.The session will include discussions of unprofessional and unsafe incidents between U.S. and Chinese military aircrafts and sea collisions. Meanwhile, the coordination talks will revolve around broader policy issues. Further, personnel from Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Pacific Air Forces, the U.S. Pacific Fleet, and the People’s Liberation Army will have a meeting. This will be the first time such a meeting will be held in person. There was a meeting in 2021, but it was virtual due to the pandemic.

Addressing U.S-Chinese Military Aircrafts and Sea Travels

According to officials, about 18 senior civilian and military officials from each side will attend this week's meeting. China and the U.S. representatives brought up some incidents regarding U.S.-Chinese military aircraft and sea conflicts in the past years that they believed had raised safety concerns. This will be the focal point of their discussion. The head of the U.S. delegation, Army Col. Ian Francis, mentioned that being direct, open, and having clear communication with other military forces is essential to avoid miscommunication and accidents. Furthermore, he added that the People's Liberation Army is now honoring its obligations to the maritime agreement. According to the two U.S. officials, who are not identified due to the meetings being private, U.S.-Chinese military aircrafts and sea collisions have declined over the past few months. They continued that the conference's goal was to continue safe air and sea travel for the sake of the troops stationed there. It is critical that the U.S. views military communications with China as integral, as they will help maintain peace in the Indo-Pacific. Suggested read: How the Chinese Junk, an Ancient Sailboat, Found Itself in WWII

The Tensions Between U.S. and China's Military Incidents

Pelosi's visit to Taiwan is significant as she is the highest-ranking American legislator to do so since 1997, following in the footsteps of then-Speaker Newt Gingrich. Her visit to the island sparked China to conduct military maneuvers. Beijing had dispatched warships and aircraft used by the Chinese military to the median line in the Taiwan Strait. With this, they had fired missiles over Taiwan and into Japan's exclusive economic zone, claiming that the de facto boundary was nonexistent. Over the following two years, U.S. military officials continuously objected to a range of unsafe intercepts of aircraft used by the Chinese military in the Pacific and other harmful incidents. The Pentagon released footage last October showing over 180 intercepts of U.S. warplanes by Chinese aircraft over the past two years. Further, officials mentioned that the number is over the accumulated amount for the previous decade—which is concerning. For instance, last year, a Chinese military aircraft flew within 10 feet (3 meters) of a U.S. Air Force B-52, which was conducting a routine procedure over the South China Sea.On the other hand, China's defense ministry released a statement criticizing the U.S. for its interference in Taiwan and the South China Sea and stating that the American arms sales to the island are making the crisis more dangerous.Read next: Long Before Chinese Spy Balloons, Japan Sent the Fu-Go Balloon Bomb


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