WASHINGTON — U.S. and Chinese military officials have met for their first working-level talks since President Donald Trump took office for the second time, with the two sides sharing their respective concerns over military safety on the seas.
The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said in a statement that the talks, held Wednesday and Thursday in the eastern Chinese city of Shanghai, were focused on “decreasing the incidences of unsafe and unprofessional” actions by China’s naval and air forces.
The Chinese defense ministry said it pointed out that U.S. military ships and aircraft have been conducting “reconnaissance, surveys and high-intensity drills in the sea and air spaces around China, which are prone to cause misunderstandings and miscalculations and jeopardize China’s sovereignty and military security.”
China told the U.S. that it would continue to “respond to all dangerous provocative actions” and “resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests,” the ministry statement said.
The talks were held in the same week Beijing conducted large-scale drills in the waters and airspace around the island of Taiwan. The meeting also came shortly after U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told his Japanese counterpart that Japan is “our indispensable partner in deterring Communist Chinese military aggression.”
Ties between Beijing and Washington have been strained in the past several years over issues such as trade, cybersecurity, Taiwan and the South China Sea. Under Trump, a trade war has worsened as his administration imposed tariffs and China announced retaliatory measures.
To push back at China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S. has stepped up its presence in the region, sailing through the Taiwan Strait and conducting drills in the disputed South China Sea. The U.S. opposes any forced takeover of Taiwan, which Beijing claims to be part of Chinese territory and vows to take by force if necessary.
But both governments also are seeking to keep the lines of communications open, including through the semi-annual talks of the working group.
The Chinese defense ministry said the two sides “conducted candid and constructive exchanges on the security situation in maritime and aerial domains” this time in Shanghai and that they discussed measures to improve maritime military security between the two countries.
