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on the morning of september 10, the chinese and us militaries held a telephone conversation between theater leaders.

the press release was brief, mentioning that "the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern."

this sentence is very common in press releases related to foreign affairs activities, but there are differences in the expression - "exchange of views" and "in-depth exchange of views".

how to understand the word “in-depth” in press releases?

first, let’s talk about communication channels.

last year, when the chinese and us heads of state met in san francisco, the two heads of state reached a consensus to conduct telephone calls between the leaders of the two military theaters.

military expert zhang junshe told tan zhu:

overall, the chinese and us militaries currently have multiple communication channels, including high-level military communication, working meetings between the two defense ministries, china-us maritime military security consultation mechanism meetings, and phone calls between the two military theater leaders.

among them, high-level communication between the chinese and american militaries includes dialogue and communication between the joint staff of the central military commission and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff of the us army, as well as meetings and communication between the defense ministers of china and the united states.

the china-u.s. defense department working meeting is a working-level exchange and dialogue held once a year. it is mainly to discuss the plans for exchanges and cooperation between the two militaries in the coming year. it is usually hosted by the leaders of the international military cooperation office of the central military commission of my country and officials from the u.s. department of defense.

the china-us maritime military security consultation mechanism meetings are divided into group meetings and annual general-level meetings. the group meetings are generally chaired by school-level officers, and the annual general-level meetings are generally chaired by major general officers to conduct consultations and exchanges on maritime military security.

compared with the other three communication channels, the special feature of theater leadership communication is that it is a direct communication between commanders who directly control the front-line naval and air force operations. this kind of communication helps reduce misunderstandings between the two armies.

the reason why misunderstandings need to be reduced is that there is a high probability of a sea and air encounter between the two parties in this video call - the southern theater command and the us indo-pacific command.

the place where they meet is mainly the south china sea.

zhang junshe said: according to the us military, the indo-pacific command's "area of ​​responsibility" includes the south china sea.

the u.s. indo-pacific command is composed of:

｜｜u.s. pacific fleet

｜｜marine corps pacific command

｜｜u.s. marine corps pacific

｜｜u.s. pacific air force

｜｜u.s. army pacific, etc.

in march this year, the "south china sea strategic situation awareness program" released the "incomplete report on us military activities in the south china sea in 2023", which counted the activities of the us aircraft carrier strike group in the south china sea in 2023.

among them are the uss nimitz, uss reagan and uss carl vinson, all of which belong to the us pacific fleet.

in addition to sending aircraft carriers to the south china sea, the us indo-pacific command will also send military aircraft to the south china sea for close-in reconnaissance and send warships to illegally intrude into our territorial waters.

the southern theater command is responsible for responding and handling the situation.

in may this year, the uss halsey guided-missile destroyer illegally entered china's xisha territorial waters. the uss halsey guided-missile destroyer belongs to the us seventh fleet, one of the two fleets under the pacific fleet.

at that time, the southern theater command organized naval and air forces to track, monitor, warn and drive away the us ship in accordance with laws and regulations. in august this year, the southern theater command also organized a joint combat patrol in the sea and air area near huangyan island.

the southern theater command is responsible for maintaining stability in the south china sea, while the u.s. indo-pacific command often does things that stir up the situation in the south china sea. from this perspective, it is particularly important for the two sides to communicate in depth, manage differences, and avoid misunderstandings among front-line troops.

zhang junshe said: during the communication between the theater leaders, both sides will discuss the maritime and air security issues that they are most concerned about and put forward their own views on the issue. china will warn the us that the us cannot send warships and military aircraft into the waters near china's south china sea islands and reefs to conduct so-called "freedom of navigation" operations, which is a violation of international law. at the same time, china will also ask the us to restrain its frontline naval and air forces, strictly abide by international law, and respect china's territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

in addition to these practical exchanges, china and the united states also need to have in-depth exchanges on cognition.

the commander of the us indo-pacific command is samuel paparo, whom mr. tan met at the shangri-la dialogue in june this year.

as an american soldier who comes from a military family and has served in afghanistan, paparo believes in the "force of force is supreme". at the shangri-la dialogue, paparo said at the outset that deterrence is the cornerstone of modern military strategy and a way to "seek peace".

correspondingly, cui tiankai, former chinese ambassador to the united states, was also at the meeting. ambassador cui also talked about his understanding of deterrence. what did ambassador cui say?

the gist of his speech was that deterrence is only a tool and a means. what really matters is how we understand the world, how we understand ourselves, and how we understand our relationship in this ever-changing world. if we regard each other as potential or real adversaries, then deterrence will eventually turn into real threats or even open conflicts. if our goal is to work together for a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous world, then we really don't need much deterrence.

from the two people's stories, we can see that there are great differences in cognition between china and the united states. these differences require in-depth communication to achieve mutual understanding.

in april this year, the new york times published an article detailing how the biden administration is increasing its “deterrence” against china in the so-called indo-pacific region:

｜｜reorganize the u.s. marine corps in japan to give it the ability to attack naval ships at sea.

｜｜deploy us marines in australia.

｜｜obtained the right to use multiple airports and naval bases in the philippines.

from these actions, we can see that the united states hopes to bring its allies together to "deter" china.

paparo said that these actions have made the united states and its allies stronger, and "we" will win any battle in the western pacific.

but is this kind of "circle-building" behavior really useful? a detail not long ago is enough to illustrate the problem.

on august 7, the united states, together with the philippines, australia and canada, conducted a joint naval and air exercise in the south china sea.

this first exercise of the four countries in the south china sea claims to be about "uniting to confront the 'challenge' from china." but how exactly are they "united"?

the united states sent the uss lake erie missile cruiser, which was commissioned in 1993 and is expected to be retired in 2025.

the ship sent by canada is the frigate montreal, which entered service in 1994 and is now at an age where it should have been scrapped and retired.

the philippines sent a patrol ship, the ramon alcaraz, which was commissioned in 1967. the ship first served in the u.s. coast guard, and in 2012, it was retired and sold to the philippines.

australia, on the other hand, didn't even send a ship, but only dispatched a p-8a patrol aircraft as a "show of appreciation".

this is what the united states calls "deterrence." the united states wants to drag these countries to jointly disrupt the regional situation. these countries may have some hype and follow in their statements, but in actual actions, they are "holding back the united states."

the united states itself has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of conflict with china.

the united states said so, so stop playing tricks. if you want to talk, you have to show sincerity and have a good talk.

source: yuyuan tantian/cctv news