bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Keegan Elmer

Talks this week between the defence minsters of China and the United States might ease pressure but are unlikely to end close encounters between the two countries’ displays of military force in the contested South China Sea, analysts said.
Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe is due to meet US Defence Secretary James Mattis in Washington on Friday, less than a month after the two men met in Singapore in a bid to ease tensions.
Those tensions were reflected on the weekend when CNN reported that the US Navy had had 18 “unsafe or unprofessional” encounters with Chinese military forces in the Pacific since 2016, with the greatest number of the incidents occurring last year, the first year of the Trump administration.
﻿Watch: The last time Mattis and Wei met over the South China Sea


The encounters included what the US considered to be “unsafe” intercepts of naval surveillance planes by Chinese fighter jets.
In the most recent of the 18 incidents, on September 30 a Chinese destroyer warned the USS Decatur that the American vessel would “suffer consequences” if it did not change course, before sailing within 41 metres (45 yards) of the US warship.
Exclusive details and footage emerge of near collision between warships in South China Sea
Analysts said this week’s high-level meeting would do little to address underlying tensions that caused close calls between US and China.
Zhang Jie, international relations researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the meetings in Singapore and Washington were good signs but the results would be limited.
“Those at the high level hope that the situation will stabilise, but if the amount of activity on the water does not change, then the degree of danger will increase. We can’t rely only on high-level meetings alone to resolve these problems – I’m not optimistic about that,” Zhang said.
She said tensions in the South China Sea were linked to the broader political and trade problems between the US and China.
﻿Watch: The moment US and Chinese ships nearly collided


“Each side is going to uphold their own interest, so the hopes for a resolution are not high. General relations are not very friendly at the moment, and this has an effect,” Zhang said.
Collin Koh, a research fellow in maritime security at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said the talks were part of a recurring cycle of conflict followed by talks, and acted as a “pressure valve”. But stepping down was politically costly for each side.
South China Sea rivalries may be played out at disputed Mischief Reef, observers say
Koh said that although the Decatur incident could be seen as exceptional stand-off, regular incidents were expected to continue due in part to the White House’s commitment to the South China Sea.
“After [US President Donald] Trump first came to office, there was already speculation as to whether Trump would trade the South China Sea for a North Korean settlement, with China’s help, and that led to speculation over whether he would be a transactional leader and use the South China Sea as a sacrificial lamb,” Koh said. “So far we have not seen that.”


China-Canada canola deal faces fragility test as USMCA trade talks loom, insiders warn

As UN grapples with cash crisis don’t expect China to fill the gap, experts say

How can China react to Panama Canal ruling that boosts US push to counter its influence?

Trump balks at nuclear limit extension, calls for new US-China-Russia deal

US-China relations

Mattis-Wei talks ‘won’t curb unsafe encounters’ in South China Sea

US Secretary of Defence James Mattis meets his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Singapore in October. Photo: EPA-EFE

Exclusive details and footage emerge of near collision between warships in South China Sea

The two warships narrowly avoided a collision. Photo: British Ministry of Defence

clash

China’s Luyang destroyer. Photo: Handout

Timeline of events, as detailed by the UK Ministry of Defence.

clash3

South China Sea rivalries may be played out at disputed Mischief Reef, observers say

A Chinese H-6K bomber patrols the South China Sea, where tensions between Beijing and Washington have been steadily rising. Photo: AP

FILE - In this April 12, 2018, file photo released by China's Xinhua News Agency, the Liaoning aircraft carrier is accompanied by navy frigates and submarines conducting an exercises in the South China Sea. U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who has accused China of "intimidation and coercion" in the South China Sea, is visiting Beijing as the countries increasingly spar over U.S. arms sales to Taiwan and Beijing's expanding military presence overseas. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)

Beijing opens weather stations on artificial islands in South China Sea

Structures and an airstrip are seen on man-made Subi Reef, where China has built one of three weather observation facilities. Photo: AP

News

China

Military

Diplomacy

Meeting in Washington between the US and Chinese defence ministers will do little to address underlying cause of close calls, analysts say


An upcoming meeting in Washington between the US and Chinese defence ministers will do little to address underlying cause of close calls, analysts say.


South China Sea

China’s military

United States

Mattis-Wei talks ‘won’t curb unsafe encounters’ in South China Sea

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Meeting in Washington between the US and Chinese defence ministers will do little to address underlying cause of close calls, analysts say

Meeting in Washington between the US and Chinese defence ministers will do little to address underlying cause of close calls, analysts say