China-US tension: defence ministers talk under the shadow of US night flight close to Guangdong coast
- Friction over manoeuvres in the South China Sea, but Beijing and Washington agree to keep lines of communication open to ‘contain risks’
- Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe and the US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper discuss issues related to Hong Kong and Covid-19
While state news agency Xinhua said Wei “took a phone call” from Esper on Thursday night “upon invitation”, a Chinese military source suggested the exchange could have been initiated by the Chinese side because the US was being increasingly provocative over the South China Sea.
“The US military has made ‘a big move’ in the South China Sea recently. They even sent an aircraft flying very close to Guangzhou at night time,” the insider told the South China Morning Post.
“Such a move could be defined as a serious provocation,” said the person, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
In the 90-minute phone conversation, Esper raised concerns about the Chinese military’s “destabilising activities in the vicinity of Taiwan and the South China Sea” and called on China to abide by international rules.
Meanwhile Wei stated China’s positions on the issues and the US “stigmatisation” of China, and urged the US to better control maritime risks and warning against “dangerous moves” that might escalate the tensions, according to accounts by both sides.