Washington Warns Beijing Over ‘Dangerous Tactics’ in the South China Sea

In a Video Call Between Senior Military Officials

A senior U.S. military official urged his Chinese counterpart yesterday (Monday) to reconsider Beijing’s “dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics” in the South China Sea and other areas, the United States announced, according to the French news agency.

The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command stated that its head, Samuel Paparo, “urged the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to reconsider Beijing’s dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and elsewhere.”

Earlier today, China’s Ministry of Defense announced that Wu Yanan, head of the PLA’s Southern Theater Command, had a video call with Paparo. The ministry added that during this call, “the two men exchanged views on issues of common interest.”

This high-level military dialogue between the two geopolitical rivals follows a visit by the U.S. National Security Advisor to China in late August, the first visit of its kind since 2016.

Trade is one of the many areas of dispute between the two global powers, in addition to competition in technology, tensions in the South China Sea, and the Taiwan issue. However, Beijing and Washington have been trying since last year to keep the dialogue going despite their differences.