First meeting in a year and a half of US and Chinese Defense Ministers
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US and Chinese defense ministers met this Tuesday for the first time in a year and a half. The meeting is a new signal from the two superpowers to maintain dialogue despite still high tensions.
The video conference meeting between Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart, Dong Jun, comes at a time when Washington seeks to strengthen defense cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region to combat Beijing’s growing influence.
At the same time, the US maintains open lines of communication with China to avoid an escalation of tensions.
During the conversation, “the two officials discussed defense relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China and regional and global security issues,” said a spokesperson for the US Department of Defense in a statement.
According to the informative note, cited by the Lusa agency, Lloyd Austin “highlighted the importance of continuing to open military lines of communication” between the two powers and “reaffirmed that the United States will continue to fly, navigate and operate safely and responsibly wherever whatever international law allows them.”
The meeting took place less than a week after a summit in Washington between American, Philippine and Japanese leaders, during which they condemned Beijing’s “dangerous and aggressive behavior” in this maritime zone.
The dialogue on military security between the US and China – promoted by Presidents Joe Biden and Xi Jinping, during a meeting in November in California – was resumed with a meeting in early April, in Hawaii, between US and Chinese military representatives.
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