The United States Secretary of State, Daniel Kreitenbrink, and the Director for China and Taiwan Affairs at the National Security Council, part of the Office of the President, Sarah Biran, held talks with the Deputy Executive Secretary of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and the head of the Department of North American Affairs.
According to a statement from the US State Department, the “sincere and fruitful” discussions discussed maintaining channels of communication between the two countries, as well as issues affecting the Taiwan Strait. At the same time, the US negotiator made it clear that the United States intends to compete vigorously with China and defend American interests and values.
On Monday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby stated in his briefing that it is in the interest of the United States to keep channels of communication open with China.
On Saturday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin addressed the Regional Security Policy Conference at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore
They reiterated the US government’s oft-stated position that it seeks “competition, not conflict” with China,
At the same time, he warned the Far Eastern country that the United States will not give in to “coercion and violent manifestations” from China. In the press conference held within the framework of the conference, the minister urged reopening channels of military dialogue.
Meanwhile, China expressed its strong opposition to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s statement that China is not willing to participate in talks on managing the military crisis and that there will be “devastating” consequences if a conflict breaks out in the Taiwan Strait. Chinese Lieutenant General Cheng Qianfeng asserted Beijing’s “indisputable sovereignty” over islands in the South China Sea and associated waters.
Austin had asked his official Chinese counterpart for face-to-face talks, but Li Sang-fu refused the request.
The US Secretary of Defense responded by saying:
For responsible defense managers, negotiations should always be well-timed; And the right timing is always possible, and it’s still right now.
The US Department of Defense on Monday released video footage of a military incident that occurred in the Taiwan Strait over the weekend, showing a US destroyer and a Chinese ship getting dangerously close to each other.
Earlier, Washington accused a Chinese pilot of making an “unreasonably aggressive maneuver” near a US reconnaissance plane flying over the South China Sea on May 26. On the other hand, Beijing made it clear to Washington that the American plane “deliberately penetrated” a Chinese training ground “to carry out (reconnaissance) operations.” The US Department of Defense also provided a recording of the incident, which occurred at the end of May.
Cover image source: Getty Images
