chinese and u.s. theater commanders may hold phone call in "coming weeks"
2024-09-07
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our reporter guo yuandan
according to reuters on the 6th, us ambassador to china burns said on the 5th that the commander of the us indo-pacific command, paparo, will hold talks with the commander of the southern theater command of the people's liberation army of china in the coming weeks to prevent any military misunderstandings between the two superpowers. military experts interviewed by the global times reporter said that this will help stabilize the relationship between the two militaries.
according to the report, burns said in an online interview with the u.s. magazine foreign policy that u.s.-china relations fell to a historic low after the united states shot down a suspected "chinese reconnaissance balloon" last year, and washington has been seeking to establish closer military communication channels with beijing. he said paparo "should have a phone call with the commander of the southern theater command of the people's liberation army of china in the coming weeks."
at the end of august, china and the united states held a new round of strategic communication in beijing. according to information released on the official website of the chinese ministry of foreign affairs, the two sides agreed to hold a video call between the leaders of the two military theaters at an appropriate time. "regarding the call between the leaders of the two military theaters, china and the united states are communicating through military diplomatic channels. we will release the news in due course," said wu qian, spokesman for the ministry of national defense, in response to relevant questions at a regular press conference on august 29.
military expert zhang junshe said in an interview with the global times on the 6th that according to the consensus reached by the chinese and american heads of state in the san francisco meeting, high-level military communication between china and the united states, working meetings between the chinese and american defense ministries, and the china-us maritime military security consultation mechanism meetings have been resumed one after another. zhang junshe analyzed that "if the commander of the us indo-pacific command and the commander of the pla southern theater command can have a call, this is also a new step taken by the chinese and american militaries to implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and to promote the healthy and stable development of the relationship between the two militaries, which will help the relationship between the two militaries to stop falling and stabilize."
burns also said in the interview that the united states "very much hopes that this dialogue can continue, between higher-level officials on both sides." he also said: "we must maintain this contact so that if there is an incident or misunderstanding, our military leadership can meet to reduce tensions, mediate conflicts or disputes, and ensure that both sides resolve the problem in a rational way."
as for why the call was held between the us indo-pacific command and the southern theater command, experts interviewed by the global times believe that this is related to the responsibilities of the two institutions. according to the reporter, the us indo-pacific command's "area of responsibility" (aor) covers most of the pacific and indian oceans, and has jurisdiction and operational command over the us army, navy, air force and marines deployed in the region. the pla southern theater command's jurisdiction includes the south china sea, and combat operations within the jurisdiction are the responsibility of the southern theater command.
after checking relevant reports, the reporter found that the probability of direct contact between the military forces under the two major theaters of china and the united states is the highest. "for example, the us military has been sending warships into the territorial waters of china's xisha islands and the waters near the islands and reefs of the nansha islands and zhongsha islands for so-called "freedom of navigation operations" all year round. this series of operations are all under the command of the us indo-pacific command." zhang junshe said. at the same time, the chinese naval and air forces responsible for tracking, monitoring and expelling us ships and aircraft are under the command of the southern theater command. zhang junshe said that the call between the us indo-pacific command and the leaders of the southern theater command of china will help to further effectively manage differences and prevent front-line troops from accidentally firing. "it is foreseeable that during the call, china will definitely ask the us indo-pacific command to control its front-line troops and stop illegally entering the waters near the islands and reefs in the south china sea to conduct so-called "freedom of navigation operations" and stop such actions that easily cause close contact between the naval and air forces of both sides and cause sea and air accidents."
during the interview, burns did not forget to hype up the "china threat", claiming that he was concerned about china's "aggressive military expansion" and the chinese navy's "aggressive and intimidating behavior" against the united states' allies, the philippines and japan. zhang junshe believes that the current tension in the south china sea is caused by the philippines' constant infringement and provocation. china has also repeatedly asked the united states to truly respect china's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in the south china sea, stop instigating and supporting the philippines' infringement and provocation in the south china sea, and take practical actions to maintain regional peace and stability and the overall situation of sino-us relations. ▲#deep good articles project#
