US General Milley defends calls to Chinese counterpart during Trump presidency as effort to avoid conflict

Biden defends general while Trump calls Milley ‘a complete nutjob’ and says he ‘never told me about calls being made to China’

Chinese military source says US activities last year led to an increase in tensions at a time there were no clear rules of engagement for the two sides

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A new book by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa says General Mark Milley told China’s General Li Zuocheng that he would warn his counterpart in the event of a US attack. Photo: AP

Published: 1:10pm, 16 Sep 2021Updated: 11:27pm, 16 Sep 2021

The top United States military officer defended phone calls he made to his Chinese counterpart in the turbulent final months of Donald Trump’s presidency, saying the conversations were intended to convey “reassurance” to the Chinese military and were in line with his responsibilities as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Some in Congress accused General Mark Milley of having overstepped his authority and urged President Joe Biden to fire him, but Biden indicated on Wednesday he stood behind Milley.

“I have great confidence in General Milley,” Biden said when asked whether Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, had done the right thing.

Milley’s calls to General Li Zuocheng were described in the upcoming book Peril by Bob Woodward and Robert Costa. According to the book, Milley told Li that he would warn him in the event of a US attack.

According to a source close to the Chinese military, military tensions between the two countries flared last year, when the US sent bombers and fighters close to the coast of southern China.

In a separate incident in June last year, the US sent F-18 super hornets to monitor a People’s Liberation Army electronic surveillance ship, which was sailing in international waters near the Miyako Strait.