Beijing, Sep 28 (EFE).- The Chinese government on Thursday said that communication channels between Chinese and US militaries remained “open,” urging Washington to take concrete steps to bring the inter-military relations back on the right track.
“We have pointed out many times that military exchanges between China and the United States have not been interrupted, and both sides maintain sincere and effective communication through various military and diplomatic channels,” Chinese defense ministry spokesperson Wu Qian said in a press conference.
“I believe what the United States lacks is not communication channels but courage. It should take action to face reality, correct its mistakes, and create conditions for the relationship between the two armies to return to the right path,” the spokesperson added.
The remarks by the Chinese military come days after US assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, Ely Ratner, said that the US was seeking “open lines of communication” with China to restore the “broken” military ties between the two countries.
“Clear and consistent communication channels are needed between high-level officials from both militaries,” he insisted.
In August, senior US and Chinese military officials held a meeting in Fiji, marking the first sign of rapprochement in the defense arena between the two rival countries after a period of heightened tensions in recent months.
The meeting represented a positive shift in the relationship between the two militaries, which had been nearly frozen since August 2022, following a Taiwan visit by the then US House speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Taiwan, a self-ruling territory since 1949, has remained a contentious issue between Washington and Beijing, with China considering it part of its territory and opposing Washington’s increasing diplomatic and military ties with the island.
Already marred by mistrust over pandemic and economic issues, relations between the two global powers further deteriorated in February after the US military shot down an alleged Chinese “spy” balloon over US airspace, which Beijing claimed to be a civilian weather monitoring airship, meant for carrying out scientific research. EFE
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