The U.S. and Chinese militaries held talks on air and maritime operational safety for the first time since 2021, the Pentagon said Friday, as Washington and Beijing continue efforts to ease tensions and keep their rivalry under control.
The two-day meeting through Thursday took place in Hawaii, based on an agreement reached between President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in mid-November near San Francisco to reopen direct military-to-military talks at several levels, according to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The talks of the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement working group were held between representatives from the command, U.S. Pacific Fleet, and U.S. Pacific Air Forces and their Chinese military counterparts.
According to the U.S. command, the representatives reviewed some specific safety-related cases over the last few years and discussed how best to ensure "maritime and aviation operational safety and professionalism."
"The United States will continue to operate safely and professionally in the Indo-Pacific wherever international law allows, and we take this responsibility seriously," Army Col. Ian Francis, the command's director of Northeast Asia affairs, said in a statement.
Francis, who headed the U.S. delegation, added that "open, direct, and clear communications" with the Chinese military, as well as with all other forces in the region, "is of utmost importance to avoid accidents and miscommunication."
The United States and China last held talks under the framework, dating back to 1998, in December 2021, meeting virtually.
Despite numerous areas of contention, the two world powers have recognized the need to prevent competition from turning into direct conflict.
High-level military communication channels had been closed since Beijing shut them down to protest a visit to Taiwan made in August 2022 by then-U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and often engages in shows of force by sending warships and fighter jets near the self-ruled democratic island.
Since the Biden-Xi summit, according to senior U.S. officials, the number of unsafe military interactions between the United States and China has reduced significantly.
But the Chinese military continues to be aggressive against Taiwan as well as the Philippines in the South China Sea, where Beijing claims sovereignty over almost the entire body of water.
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