Pentagon chiefs’ calls to China go unanswered amid Taiwan crisis.Officials and experts say Beijing's silence is a dangerous move

[beijingwalker]

Pentagon chiefs’ calls to China go unanswered amid Taiwan crisis​

Officials and experts say Beijing's silence is a dangerous move.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a news briefing at the Pentagon July 21, 2021 in Arlington, Virginia. | Alex Wong/Getty Images
By LARA SELIGMAN and ALEXANDER WARD
08/05/2022 05:33 PM EDT

Top Chinese military officials have not returned multiple calls from their American counterparts this week as a crisis erupted in the Pacific over House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan, according to three people with knowledge of the attempts.

Beijing’s ghosting of Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley comes as China continues launching missiles and positioning warships and aircraft in unprecedented military drills around Taiwan. Officials and experts say China’s silence is a shortsighted and reckless move that increases the risk of escalation in an already tense situation.

“If the [Chinese military] is operating more aggressively, and in closer proximity to U.S. forces with greater frequency, we’d need these mechanisms even more to promote a safe operating environment,” said Randy Schriver, who served as the top Pentagon official for Asia policy in the Trump administration.

U.S. military leaders strive to maintain open lines of communication even with potential adversaries such as China to prevent accidents and other miscalculations that could turn into a full-blown conflict.

But the last call Milley had with his Chinese counterpart, Chief of the Joint Staff Gen. Li Zuocheng, was on July 7, the Pentagon said. The two spoke by secure video teleconference about the need to maintain open lines of communication, as well as reducing risk, according to a readout from Milley’s office. Austin, meanwhile, met in person with Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Wei Fenghe in June on the sideline of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

“The secretary has repeatedly emphasized the importance of fully open lines of communication with China’s defense leaders to ensure that we can avoid any miscalculations, and that remains true,” Todd Breasseale, the Pentagon’s acting press secretary, told POLITICO in an email.

China on Friday announced that it was halting certain official dialoguesbetween senior-level U.S. military commanders, including the regional commanders, as well as talks on maritime safety. The announcement does not specifically apply to Austin and Milley’s counterparts, and officials said they are still open to communication between those leaders.

White House spokesperson John Kirby said while the announcement “does not completely eliminate the opportunities for senior members of our military to talk,” it increases the risk of an accident.

“These lines of communications are actually important for helping you reduce the risk of miscalculation and misperception,” Kirby said Friday. “You have this much military hardware operating in confined areas, it’s good, especially now, to have those lines of communication open.”

China is conducting military drills around Taiwan that have broken multiple precedents and fundamentally changed the status quo in the region. Beijing this week launched missiles into Taiwan’s territory, including at least one that appears to have flown over the island, and has sortied ships and aircraft across the median line separating Taiwan’s territorial waters from mainland China.

The U.S., which does not officially recognize Taiwan’s independence but sells weapons to the island, wants to avoid a situation such as on April 1, 2001, when a U.S. Navy EP-3 signals intelligence aircraft and a Chinese J-8 fighter collided in mid-air, prompting an international dispute.

The risk of such an incident is increasingly high. China has recently ramped up aggressive activity in the Pacific, particularly the East and South China seas, alarming U.S. officials. Chinese aircraft and ships have buzzed and harassed U.S. and allied pilots, even conducting an “unsafe” intercept with a U.S. special operations C-130 aircraft in June.

Yet canceling military dialogue is significant, but not unprecedented, experts said.

“Historically this is definitely part of the playbook,” Schriver said. “Mil-mil [communications] historically is on the chopping block when we have problems with China.”

But Kirby condemned the move as “irresponsible” at a time of escalating tensions.

“We find the shutting down of military communications channels at whatever level and whatever scope and at a time of crisis to be an irresponsible Act,” Kirby said.

Pentagon chiefs’ calls to China go unanswered amid Taiwan crisis

Officials and experts say Beijing's silence is a dangerous move.

www.politico.com

 

[truthseeker2010]

so called experts!

 

[mili]

A summary of latest events.

A sends his grandma to face B, daring him to hit her.

When B did not hit her, A laughs.
Angry B brings a bat to look for A but A has run away.
From far away, A calls B to talk but B is not answering the call.
to be continued................

 

[beijingwalker]

Blinken Chides China's 'Irresponsible' Cut in U.S. Communication Channels​

By Reuters

Aug. 6, 2022, at 3:30 a.m.

MANILA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused China of "irresponsible steps" on Saturday by halting key communication channels with Washington, and said its Taiwan actions showed a move from prioritising peaceful resolution towards use of force.


His comments came as Chinese aircraft and warships practised on Saturday for an attack on Taiwan, island officials said, part of a raft of steps taken by Beijing after a visit by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi earlier this week.

China's retaliation in stopping bilateral processes in eight key areas including defence, narcotics, transnational crime and climate change were moves that would punish the world, not just the United States, Blinken told a news conference in Manila.

"Those include several military to military channels, which are vital for avoiding miscommunication and avoid crisis," he said.

"Suspending climate cooperation doesn't punish the United States, it punishes the world, particularly the developing world. We should not hold hostage cooperation on matters of global concern because of differences between our two countries."

Tackling climate change has been a key area of cooperation between the two superpowers and two biggest emitters of greenhouse gas emissions.

Blinken said the United States had been hearing concern from allies about what he called China's dangerous and destabilising actions around Taiwan, but Washington would remain steady in its handling of the situation.

He said he had conveyed to China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at a regional meeting in Cambodia that the United States was determined to keep communication channels going to prevent miscalculations, as countries around the world expected them to.

"So let me be clear, the United States doesn't believe that it's in the interest of Taiwan, the region, or our own national security to escalate the situation," he said.
"We'll keep our channels of communication with China open, with the intent of avoiding escalation due to misunderstanding or miscommunication."

He added: "Maintaining dialogue is arguably even more important when we're in a period of heightened tensions ... We seek to deescalate those tensions. And we think dialogue is a very important element of that."

https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-08-06/blinken-chides-chinas-irresponsible-cut-in-u-s-communication-channels

 

[Dalit]

The Americans want to provoke and also control the narrative. These two cannot go together. Well done China.

 

[hualushui]

 

[SIPRA]

China is fully milking Pelosi's stupidity.

 

[murugan]

PRC should sink the USS Renald reagon by it's carrier killer missile and teach the Yanks a lesson.
How dare they or anyone visit the holy Chinese land of Taiwan.
Shame on them.

 

[kingQamaR]

China cutting military dialogue with the United States is a mistake because that's how miscalculations happen. I would also like to know when leaders of certain countries usa will learn that conflict is not the way forward.

 

[beijingwalker]

Nancy Pelosi 'accomplished absolutely nothing' in Taiwan​

Sky News Australia
" Speaker of the house Pelosi who made a lifetime out of antagonizing the Chinese was make everything go backwards, she accomplished absolutely nothing. She made a lot of difficulties with people, it's like somebody from Mexico showing up in Texas says we are going to help Texas and becoming an independent again, it's just stupid, can't believe an 82 years old speaker of the house didn't have enough common sense to hold back on this."

 

[REhorror]

How easily the hunter becomes the hunted.

 

[beijingwalker]

Nancy Pelosi's long history of opposing Beijing​

Here Pelosi hoists a protest banner in Tiananmen Square, Beijing 1991

Nancy Pelosi's long history of opposing Beijing

The US speaker's trip to Taiwan has angered China - but she has a long history of taking on Beijing.

www.bbc.com

 

[gambit]

Nancy Pelosi 'accomplished absolutely nothing' in Taiwan​

Sky News Australia
" Speaker of the house Pelosi who made a lifetime out of antagonizing the Chinese was make everything go backwards, she accomplished absolutely nothing. She made a lot of difficulties with people, it's like somebody from Mexico showing up in Texas says we are going to help Texas and becoming an independent again, it's just stupid, can't believe an 82 years old speaker of the house didn't have enough common sense to hold back on this."

So China responded to a 'nothing'.

 

[beijingwalker]

So China responded to a 'nothing'.

Based on Pelosi herself, China is taking full advantage of her innocent visit as a pretext to hone her invasion capabilities, a justifiable pretext that China had been waiting for a long time, in a sense, Chinese government and PLA should thank Pelosi.

The US, Australia and Japan urge China to cease military exercises around Taiwan – as it happened

www.theguardian.com

Taiwan Says Chinese Planes, Ships Carry Out Attack Simulation Exercise

Blinken calls China's cessation of dialogue 'irresponsible'

www.voanews.com

 

[kankan326]

Biden had called Xi for several times and promised US will keep its one China policy. Turned out US promises are bullshits. So why bother calling again.