As China and US revive military safety talks, Beijing warns against threats to sovereignty in Indo-Pacific

Chinese and American officials hold ‘candid and constructive’ discussions on ‘safety-related events’ as maritime working group meets in Hawaii

Group’s first meeting in over two years comes after annual talks were put on hold following former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip to Taiwan

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PLA and US military officials at the MMCA working group talks in Honolulu, Hawaii. Photo: US Navy

Published: 9:00pm, 6 Apr 2024Updated: 9:01pm, 6 Apr 2024

Fresh talks this week between Chinese and US military officials were “candid and constructive”, but Beijing will continue to respond to sovereignty threats in the Indo-Pacific, China’s defence ministry warned on Saturday.

The talks in Hawaii on Wednesday and Thursday were the first in more than two years under the banner of the US-China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) working group and brought together officials from the People’s Liberation Army and the US Indo-Pacific Command, Pacific Fleet and Pacific Air Forces.

The ministry said the meeting was held to “promote the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of military relations between the two countries”.

“On the basis of equality and mutual respect, both sides had candid and constructive exchanges on the current maritime and air security situation between China and the United States,” it said.

Pentagon footage from October of what it says was a Chinese fighter jet flying close to an American B-52 bomber over the South China Sea. Photo: US Indo-Pacific Command via AP

The two delegations discussed “safety-related events” that had occurred in the last few years, as well as how the nations could avoid accidental clashes in the future, the US Indo-Pacific Command said.