United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and his Chinese counterpart Dong Jun have held their first substantive talks in nearly 18 months as the two countries work to restore military ties.
The two spoke via videoconference on Tuesday, the Pentagon said in a statement.
It said Austin “underscored the importance of respect for high seas freedom of navigation guaranteed under international law, especially in the South China Sea.”
“Secretary Austin emphasised the importance of continuing to open lines of military-to-military communication between the United States and the PRC” following talks between the two sides in recent months, the statement said.
Austin also “reiterated that the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate – safely and responsibly – wherever international law allows”.
“The two officials discussed US-PRC defense relations and regional and global security issues,” the Pentagon said in a statement, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
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