U.S. President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the G20 leaders' summit in Bali, Indonesia, November 14, 2022. (Reuters/File)
A senior US defense official said China has halted “dangerous” military actions in the air and at sea in the weeks since President Xi Jinping met with his US counterpart Joe Biden, suggesting tensions are easing.
“We are also concerned about close-range interceptions and dangerous actions in the air and maritime environment. I will tell you I haven't had any of those since the meeting,” Admiral John Aquilino, head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, told reporters in Tokyo on Monday. “If this trend continues, it would be incredibly beneficial.”
That development suggests that relations between the world's two largest economies are improving after Biden and Xi met in San Francisco for the first time in a year in November.
Restoring high-level military communications was a priority during those talks. Such ties were severed in 2022 after then-Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, which also led to China stepping up military exercises around the island.
When asked about Aquilino's comments on Tuesday, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson reiterated the country's position on US military actions.
“In principle, China always firmly opposes the frequent close reconnaissance of US aircraft on China,” Wang Wenbin said at a regular briefing.
Aquilino told reporters on Monday that his freedom of navigation “was consistent.” The US carries out such maneuvers to demonstrate its right to fly and sail through what it considers international waters and airspace.
There are other signs that relations between the two nations remain precarious. US officials said China agreed to policy-level talks with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin during Xi-Biden's sit-down. But Beijing has not yet found a replacement for ousted Defense Minister Li Shangfu.
Aquilino, meanwhile, said he has been asking China to speak to his Chinese counterpart for almost three years — including after the Xi-Biden summit — but to no avail.
The admiral also criticized China's actions involving the Philippines and Australia. Tensions between Beijing in the region involving these two countries have escalated in recent months.
“This is about actions, this is not about words,” he said. “I would like to see that behavior change.”
First print: December 20, 2023 | 12:03 pm IST