Discussions between U.S. and Chinese military officials have helped avoid further incidents like the Aug. 19 near-collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. Navy spy plane, but the dialogue needs to continue to build trust between the two sides and reduce friction, the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific told reporters Thursday.
“We have developed over time … mechanisms with the Chinese to be able to discuss … these type of issues with each other,” Adm. Samuel Locklear said. “And we bring these forward in those, and we have a pretty direct dialogue about what we saw was unsafe and how they interpreted it as being unsafe. And since the last one occurred, we haven’t had any more.
“Does it mean we won’t have another one? I hope we don’t. But if we do, we will have a mechanism to address it. We have mechanisms and will be forthright about it.”
China has strongly objected to the spy flights near its coast, but the Pentagon has said they will continue. The dispute is colored by the fact that China claims sovereignty over a vast stretch of the South China Sea that other countries, including the United States, see as international waters.
Locklear, who is set to be replaced by the Navy’s Pacific Fleet commander, Adm. Harry Harris, said the growing influence of China is one of the most important security issues that needs to be managed in the region to keep addressing points of friction peacefully.
“I believe that the Chinese would tell you that they believe that that security architecture is not — not the one that they see is best in their favor and they’d like for it to be adjusted. So this would be the dialogue that has to go on in the coming decades,” he said.
