China’s PLA open to good relations with US military, if Chinese sovereignty is respected

US spying and provocations on Taiwan and South China Sea among reasons fuelling military tensions, Chinese defence ministry says
China military threat held up by some Americans is false ‘paranoia of persecution’, says ministry spokesman

China’s military

Liu Zhen

Published: 2:00am, 26 Nov 2021

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The People’s Liberation Army is willing to develop good relations with the US military, but only if Chinese interests are respected, the Ministry of Defence in Beijing said.

This came as the ministry spelled out conditions for military talks with Washington, which would be the first such exchange since a high-profile virtual summit between the US and Chinese presidents earlier this month.

Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said communication between the two militaries was important to stabilise bilateral ties, but talks should be conducted on the understanding that China’s sovereignty should not be infringed upon.

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Washington’s “provocative” actions on issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea, and nearshore reconnaissance on the Chinese mainland by US warships and planes were to be blamed for the rising military tensions between the two countries, Wu said.

These were actions “for which it was reasonable for China to resolutely respond in kind”, Wu told a regular press conference in Beijing.

“As we have said many times, China has principles for the development of relations between the two militaries, which is that China’s sovereignty, dignity and core interests cannot be violated.”

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As geopolitical rivalry intensifies in the region, China has consistently complained about the US Navy’s frequent “freedom of navigation” operations near Chinese-controlled islands in the disputed South China Sea, as well as increased spying activities in coastal waters.

However, Taiwan is the issue that has caused the most friction in recent months.

As Beijing stepped up warplane sorties into the island’s air defence zone, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen confirmed last month that American troops had been training the island’s military.

“On the Taiwan issue in particular, China has no room for compromise and the US should not have any illusions,” Wu said.

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Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as a renegade province which broke away after the 1946-49 civil war, and has never renounced the possibility of using the PLA for a “forced reunification”.

Washington, which maintains unofficial ties with Taipei and keeps up arms sales to its government, is seen as the major obstacle to Beijing’s plan.

China and the US have been at odds over a long list of issues in recent years. But in their first video call earlier this month, Chinese President Xi Jinping and his US counterpart Joe Biden said both sides should manage their confrontations, with Xi urging dialogue on diplomatic, economic and security matters.

The top-level summit came just over a month after Huang Xueping, deputy director of the PLA Office for International Military Cooperation, and his Pentagon counterpart, Michael Chase, held talks via video link, the first interaction of the kind since Biden came to office.

Communication between the two militaries was suspended before then because of protocol concerns.

However, tensions still linger. On Tuesday, a US guided-missile destroyer once again sailed through the Taiwan Strait, triggering an angry protest from Beijing.

Earlier this month, photos from a commercial satellite company suggested that the PLA had built mock-up US aircraft carriers and other warships in the desert of Xinjiang, possibly as targets for anti-ship ballistic missile testing.

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In response to the US naval chief’s comment that China was a “strategic threat” to the US, Wu said the so-called China military threat held up by some Americans was a “paranoia of persecution” that was “compulsively fabricated”.

“People who are addicted to and chasing hegemony always feel that others are coveting their hegemony … Their purpose is simply to find excuses for their own pursuit of absolute superiority in the military field and the maintenance of global hegemony,” he said.

Admiral Michael Gilday, the chief of US naval operations, has warned that the balance of maritime power could shift in the next 10 years, and said the US military should streamline capabilities to effectively deter China.