* U.S Joint Chiefs of staff Gen. Charles Brown virtually spoke to Chinese counterpart Gen. Liu Zhenli.
* China called for respect towards its sovereign claims in the South China Sea emphasizing that Taiwan is China's internal affairs.
* Beijing had suspended top level military communications in protest after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022 souring ties between the two countries.
Gen. Charles Brown virtually spoke with Chinese counterpart Gen. Liu Zhenli on Thursday in the first direct high level engagement between the two militaries in more than a year. The meeting comes after the heads of state agreed to resume high level military communications in their bilateral talks in the sidelines of the Asia- Pacific Economic Co-operation. Beijing had stopped high level military communications after former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August. Beijing had also rebuffed U.S efforts to resume communication notably at a regional defense summit in Singapore earlier this year.
The revival of direct talks comes at a time when Beijing and Manila are escalating their face off in the South China Sea defending territorial claims in the crucial waterway as many countries deepen security ties with the U.S partly to counter China's aggression in the region." The United States should earnestly respect China's core interests and major concerns and focus on promoting pragmatic cooperation and mutual understanding." China has also consistently maintained its claims over the self governed Taiwan and majority of the South China sea despite the permanent court of Arbitration ruling that China's expansive claims are baseless in 2016.
The U.S suggested that military engagements between the two countries may resume including their bilateral defense policy coordination talks as well as opening lines of communication with the various leaders of the respective military commands in the South China Sea. The two generals agreed to keep high level talks emphasizing that regular military diplomacy offers avenue for addressing security concerns in the region resolving misunderstandings, deescalating potential crises and reducing risk of kinetic conflict.
