PLA sends South China Sea commander to US for first time in over 2 years

The People’s Liberation Army has sent its commander responsible for the South China Sea to the United States for the first time since Beijing shut down military ties more than two years ago.

China’s defence ministry on Monday confirmed that General Wu Yanan, who heads the PLA Southern Theatre Command, held a meeting with US Indo-Pacific commander Admiral Samuel Paparo during the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defence Conference in Hawaii last week.

It follows a video call between the commanders earlier this month, as the two militaries start to re-engage after communication channels were cut.

During last week’s meeting, “both sides had a candid and in-depth exchange of views on issues of common concern, focusing on implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state”, the Chinese ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The US Indo-Pacific Command said Paparo had “underscored the importance of sustained lines of communication between the US military and the PLA to reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation”.