South China Sea: amid tension, US and Chinese navy chiefs discuss ‘increasing security challenges in Indo-Pacific’
US and Chinese navy chiefs have met alongside a naval forum in Qingdao amid tensions in the South China Sea.
Admiral Stephen Koehler, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, met Admiral Yuan Huazhi, political commissar of the People’s Liberation Army Navy, at the 19th Western Pacific Naval Symposium on Tuesday.
Koehler met Yuan to discuss “increasing security challenges in the Indo-Pacific”, according to a statement from the US Pacific Fleet which provides naval forces to the Indo-Pacific Command.
Two days earlier, Koehler had met the commander of China’s navy, Admiral Hu Zhongming, according to the statement.
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Chinese floating barrier blocks entrance to Philippine ships at South China Sea flashpoint
Chinese floating barrier blocks entrance to Philippine ships at South China Sea flashpoint
In meetings with Chinese PLA officials, Koehler discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication, operational safety and regional security concerns, it said.
The bilateral talks – which the Chinese side is yet to confirm or offer details about – came after a series of senior-level talks between the two militaries, including most recently between US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s Defence Minister, Admiral Dong Jun this month.
The meetings took place alongside the symposium hosted by China and attended by 29 countries, notably including representatives from rivals Russia and the US, which did not have any bilateral interactions, according to public information.
While the Philippines was absent, the member countries passed the updated 3.0 version of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) – a non-binding multilateral agreement adopted in 2014 – on Tuesday, standardising safety protocols, basic communications and basic manoeuvring at sea for ships and aircraft.
The full text of the document has not been made public.
Alexander Moiseyev, commander-in-chief of the Russian Navy who led his country’s delegation to the event, also held talks with China’s navy commander Hu, Tass reported on Sunday.
The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding and cooperation in sea search and rescue operations and both stressed the importance of developing cooperation between their navies “in the interests of security and stability” in the world’s oceans, Tass said citing Russia’s defence ministry.
Both nations stressed the importance of developing cooperation between the two countries’ navies “in the interests of security and stability in the world ocean”, Tass cited Russia’s defence ministry as saying.
The forum started on Sunday and took place against a backdrop of intensified clashes between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea where they have overlapping territorial disputes. Tensions are also running high in the Taiwan Strait and the East China Sea.
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10 killed in mid-air helicopter collision at Malaysia naval base
10 killed in mid-air helicopter collision at Malaysia naval base
It coincided with the largest-ever annual Balikatan “shoulder-to-shoulder” drills between the US and the Philippines in the South China Sea which started on Monday.
The forum established a “research working group on unmanned systems” with China as the coordinating country, a statement from China’s defence ministry on Tuesday said, although it offered no further details.
During the forum on Tuesday, Hu Zhongming called for “close communication” and “strengthened coordination” between the naval forces of countries taking part, according to China’s defence ministry.
He called on the navies of all countries to “engage in dialogue rather than confrontation, to engage in exchanges rather than becoming hostile … and to add bricks rather than chaos”.
