China may be withholding military dialogue as ‘bartering chip’, says US Pacific commander
- US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John Aquilino tells New York forum he is ‘ready and willing’ to meet counterparts
- He was speaking hours after returning from high-level engagements with Pacific island nations in Papua New Guinea
Calls by the United States military for dialogue with Chinese counterparts have gone unanswered, with communication opportunities possibly withheld as a “bartering chip”, the commander of US military forces in the Pacific said in New York on Wednesday.
“We talked about some of the things that we need to do to ensure a peaceful area. One of those that is critically important for me is that of communication, and it’s precisely for this reason that I’ve repeatedly requested to speak with my counterparts in the PLA,” US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral John C. Aquilino said at an event organised by the National Committee on US-China Relations. “It has yet to be approved.
“I do believe establishing routine communication between our two militaries is critical to responsibly manage competition, to mitigate risk and to avoid miscalculation,” he said. “I do not believe that engaging in an open and candid discussion should be used as a bartering chip.
“The stakes today are too high, and the conflict costs would be too great,” Aquilino added. “I remain ready and willing to meet with my theatre commander counterparts to have frank and open discussions.”
He mixed assurances that military conflict with China was not inevitable and that the US “does not seek an independent Taiwan” with indictments of Beijing’s efforts to “change and remove the current rules-based order”.
“Since [Chinese President] Xi Jinping assumed control, he has pursued a deliberate synchronisation of all forms in his national power to change and remove the current rules-based order,” Aquilino said.