China and the United States are expected to discuss more military communication when a senior Pentagon official attends a three-day security conference that begins on Thursday in Beijing. Michael Chase, the US deputy assistant secretary of defence for China, will be among more than 700 delegates from 90 countries to attend the Xiangshan Forum, which is seen as Beijing’s answer to the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.
Beijing and Washington have intensified military communications in recent months following an almost complete breakdown in contact for more than a year. This week saw a video call between the commander of all US forces in the Indo-Pacific and his Chinese counterpart, the first talks at such a level in more than two years.
Washington said that US Admiral Samuel Paparo told People’s Liberation Army (PLA) General Wu Yanan that communication between senior leaders was important “to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation”. He accused Chinese forces of engaging in “several unsafe interactions with US allies”, a reference to clashes between Chinese and Philippines vessels near disputed islands and maritime features in the South China Sea.
Established in 2006 with just 14 countries represented, the Xiangshan Forum has become an increasingly important venue for military diplomacy. This year’s meeting is set to be the biggest yet, with a theme of “promoting peace for a shared future” and sessions on security in Asia, Europe and the Middle East, as well as the relationship between the US and China.
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Many of the delegations are from the Global South and the forum will discuss multipolarity, global security governance and the international order. A week after Xi Jinping hosted more than 50 African leaders in Beijing, the Xiangshan Forum’s focus on the Global South’s concerns reflects China’s diplomatic ambitions.
Beijing has sought in recent years to deepen its security ties with regional partners through groups such as the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, which also includes Russia and Iran. China has also intensified security co-operation with some other Brics countries and Chinese forces are this week taking part in a joint military exercise with Brazil.
Operation Formosa, named after a Brazilian city and unrelated to the former name of Taiwan, is one of Latin America’s biggest military exercises. This year sees US and Chinese forces take part in the exercise together for the first time, along with officers from a number of countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and South America.
Chinese forces are also involved this week in a large-scale Russian military exercise featuring huge naval and air drills with more than 400 naval vessels, 120 military aircraft and 90,000 troops. Beijing said joint exercises would deepen bilateral strategic co-operation and improve their ability to respond to security threats in the Pacific Ocean.
Both Russia and Ukraine will be represented at the Xiangshan Forum at a time when the US is accusing Beijing of directly supporting Moscow’s war effort. China rejects the US claim and foreign minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that it would work to build the conditions for a ceasefire in Ukraine.
“China has always maintained an objective and impartial attitude towards the Ukrainian issue and will continue to work to promote balanced, objective and rational voices in the international community, so as to build more international consensus and accumulate the necessary conditions for an early ceasefire and a political settlement of the crisis,” he said during a meeting in St Petersburg with Russian security council secretary Sergei Shoigu.
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