US, China Defense Chiefs Talk to Bridge Trust Gap

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with his Chinese opposite number for the first time in nearly 18 months as both countries continued a series of recent engagements in the name of avoiding conflict.

“Secretary Austin emphasized the importance of continuing to open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC,” Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary, said in a readout released on Tuesday, referring to the People’s Republic of China.

In Beijing’s account of the call published the following morning, Adm. Dong Jun, who was appointed China’s national defense minister in December, stressed the importance of avoiding a “major crisis,” in language that also highlighted the lack of mutual confidence between the two sides.

Senior leaders at the Pentagon have repeatedly said that constant dialogue with the Chinese military is the best way to avoid misunderstanding and miscalculation in the Indo-Pacific, a priority region where active American and Chinese forces now frequently meet.

The Chinese readout notes that it was the U.S. side that asked for the talks.

Among Washington’s common complaints is what it calls China’s dangerous and unprofessional intercepts of U.S. and allied ships and aircraft in international waters or airspace. Beijing has countered the charge by accusing American surveillance assets of operating too close to Chinese shores.

“The Secretary reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate— safely and responsibly—wherever international law allows,” Ryder said of the call.

“China and the United States should explore ways to get along with each other and take peace, stability and trust as the basic rules of engagement,” said Dong, according to a readout by China’s official Xinhua news agency.

Dong, the first Chinese defense minister to hail from China’s navy, said the two militaries should “gradually build mutual trust.”

Austin last spoke to a Chinese Defense Ministry leader in November 2022, when he met Gen. Wei Fenghe, who served in the position until the following March. The Pentagon had hoped to set up talks with Wei’s successor, Li Shangfu, but said Beijing rejected the approach.

Both Wei and Li vanished from public view last summer, with the Chinese Defense Ministry later hinting that they—and others—were being investigated for corruption.

In recent months, top Pentagon officials have successfully reached members of the Chinese defense establishment thanks to an agreement between U.S. President Joe Biden and China’s President Xi Jinping at their San Francisco summit.

In December, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke with his Chinese counterpart, while Biden and Xi also spoke on the phone earlier this month.

Austin and Dong repeated familiar language on the South China Sea and on Taiwan, the democratically governed island backed by the U.S. but claimed by China. Austin was told Beijing would allow “no compromise” on the issue, the Chinese readout said.

The Pentagon said the U.S. “also discussed Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine and expressed concerns about recent provocations from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” North Korea’s official name.

At a press conference, Ryder declined to say whether Austin pressed Dong on China’s sales of defense-related equipment to Russia.

Beijing’s version of the call made no mention of the Russia-Ukraine war or North Korea, noting only that the two sides “also exchanged views on other issues of mutual concern.”