US Defence Secretary holds talks with Chinese counterpart, first since 2022
economictimes.indiatimes.comDefence Secretary Lloyd Austin and and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun held talks in nearly 18 months and discussed US-China defence relations and regional and global security issues, the Pentagon said.
In the meeting held via videoconference on Tuesday, Austin stressed the importance of keeping military-to-military communication lines between the US and China open, it said.
It is the first time since November 2022 that Austin has held talks with his Chinese counterpart when he spoke with the then defence minister of China Wei Fenghe in Cambodia. Dong was appointed China's Defence minister in December. China then named General Li Shangfu as its defence minister.
In 2018, the US sanctioned Li under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) when he headed the Equipment Development Department of the Chinese military. The sanctions were related to China's purchase of ten SU-35 combat aircrafts in 2017 and S-400 surface-to-air missile system-related equipment in 2018, according to the State Department, according to a Voice of America report.
Austin and Dong on Tuesday discussed the situations in the South China Sea and around the Taiwan Strait, as well as Russia-Ukraine conflict and North Korea's weapons development program, according to the Pentagon.
Austin «underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law — especially in the South China Sea — and reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail and operate safely and
