A top defense official met with a top Chinese military leader at the Pentagon on Monday and Tuesday.
Dr. Michael Chase, deputy assistant secretary of defense for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia, met with People’s Republic of China Maj. Gen. Song Yanchao, deputy director of the Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, in the first face-to-face meeting between defense leaders of both countries in over a year.
Chase, during their two-day conversation, emphasized the “importance of maintaining open lines of military-to-military communication in order to prevent competition from veering into conflict,” according to Department of Defense spokesman Lt. Col. Martin Meiners.
The DOD official also highlighted China’s continued aggression in the Asia Pacific waterways, mainly what the United States describes as their infringement upon international law regarding the freedom of navigation for vessels in international waters.
“Dr. Chase underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law in light of repeated PRC harassment against lawfully operating Philippine vessels in the South China Sea,” Meiners’s statement continued.
China initially suspended military-to-military communications with the U.S. following then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) trip to Taiwan during the summer of 2023. President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping agreed to restart those lines of communication during their meeting in November.
Gen. Charles Q. Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met virtually with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Liu Zhenli, on Dec. 21.
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“The two sides exchanged candid and in-depth views on implementing the important military-related consensus reached between the two heads of state in San Francisco and on other issues of common interest. The video call yielded positive and constructive outcomes,” Senior Col. Wu Qian, spokesman for the Ministry of National Defense of the PRC, said in late December of Liu’s call with Brown. “Going forward, we expect the U.S. side to work with us in the same direction and take concrete actions on the basis of equality and respect to promote the sound and steady development of China-U.S. military-to-military relationship.”
U.S.-Chinese military relations have deteriorated throughout the Biden administration through a series of tumultuous events, including Pelosi’s visit, the Chinese spy balloon incident from last year, and the increased frequency of unsafe or reckless maneuvers committed by Chinese pilots or naval leaders in the vicinity of U.S. forces.
