US and China want to establish military communication channels – Hagesse's statement

The United States and China plan to establish channels of communication between their militaries to resolve conflicts and reduce tensions over "any issues." About this reported American secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

"I just spoke to the president Trump, and we agree – the relationship between the United States and China has never been better," the official wrote.

Hegseth said that after the US president's talks with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea, he had a "equally positive meeting" with his counterpart, China's minister of national defense Dong Jun, in Malaysia during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit.

"And we spoke again last night. The admiral and I agree that peace, stability, and good relations are the best path for our two great and strong countries. As president Trump said, his historic "G2 meeting" set the tone for everlasting peace and success for the U.S. and China. The Department of War will do the same – peace through strength, mutual respect, and positive relations," the Pentagon chief wrote.

The minister added that he and Dong agreed that "we should set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and deescalate any problems that arise."

Hegseth announced that he would soon have more meetings with his colleague on this issue.

However, quick results are unlikely, indicates Politico publication. The United States has long been trying to establish reliable military communications with China, but Beijing suspended all such exchanges after a visit by then-speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan in 2022.

Administration of the previous American president, Joe Biden, the U.S. and China managed to persuade the PRC to restore key communications, in which high-ranking military officials personally discussed issues of mutual concern.

Meanwhile, on November 1, during a meeting of ASEAN defense ministers, Hegseth called on the region's countries to take a firm stance and strengthen their maritime forces to counter the increasingly "destabilizing" actions of China in the South China Sea, reported ABC News channel.

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