The top United States military commander in charge of the Indo-Pacific region, which includes the South China Sea, held the first talks with his counterpart from the Chinese military on Monday.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, who has served as the commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command since May, held a video teleconference with General Wu Yanan, who assumed the position of the commander of the Chinese Southern Theater Command in July. They had a “constructive and respectful” exchange of views, the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a readout of the call.
Paparo urged Wu to reconsider the use of “dangerous, coercive and potentially escalatory” tactics by China’s military in the South China Sea and beyond, according to the readout. He said the Chinese military has an obligation to comply with international laws and norms to ensure operational safety.
Admiral Samuel Paparo, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, held a video teleconference with General Wu Yanan, commander of the Chinese military’s Southern Theater Command, on September 9.
Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class John D. Bellino/U.S. Navy
The area of responsibility of the Chinese Southern Theater Command covers the southern part of China and the South China Sea. Air and naval forces between China and the U.S. and its allies, including the Philippines, have had close encounters in and over the contested waters in recent years.
Last October, the Pentagon released declassified images and videos showing 15 recent cases of what it called “coercive and risky” behavior by the Chinese military against American military aircraft in international airspace over China’s nearby waters, including the South China Sea.
Meanwhile, the Philippines, one of the U.S. treaty allies in China’s immediate region, has accused the Chinese of escalating tensions in the disputed waters, including sending ships “deliberately rammed and collided” with the Philippine vessels. The U.S. has reiterated it stands with Manila.
The Chinese Defense Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that during a summit last November, Chinese President Xi Jinping and the U.S. President Joe Biden exchanged views on issues of “common concern” during a video call.
Xi and Biden agreed to resume high-level military-to-military communication and hold conversations between the commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Chinese theater commanders, including the Southern and Eastern Theater Commands.
The South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait, a narrow waterway that separates China and Taiwan where the U.S. military routinely transits, fall within the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s area of responsibility. The strait is under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Eastern Theater Command.
Paparo emphasized in the call the importance of sustained lines of communication between the two militaries, saying that such discussions between senior leaders “serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation,” the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in the readout.
Following a high-profile visit to Taiwan, an island viewed by Beijing as a breakaway province, by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in August 2022, China canceled three military exchanges with the U.S., including phone calls between their military leaders at the theater command level.
Retired Admiral John Aquilino, who was Paparo’s predecessor, had China reject his requests to speak with Chinese military counterparts. He said during his tenure that only routine communication between the two militaries could maintain a responsibly managed competition.
In April, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Admiral Dong Jun, his Chinese counterpart, for the first time in nearly 18 months. He emphasized on the call the importance of continuing lines of military-to-military communication between the two military powers.
