Chinese military commander overseeing Taiwan operations meets U.S. PACOM chief

The head of the U.S. military’s Pacific Command (PACOM) has met with the Chinese military in charge of operations covering Taiwan and other areas, amid rising tensions over the democratic island.

PACOM chief Adm. Sam Paparo held his first in-person talks with Gen. Yang Zhibin, commander of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command, on the sidelines of the Indo-Pacific Chiefs of Defense Conference in Canada, according to the U.S. side.

“The two leaders discussed the importance of maintaining open lines of communication between senior U.S. and Chinese military leaders to reduce the risk of miscalculation and promote safe and professional conduct between forces,” PACOM said in a statement.

The command “is committed to enhancing stability in the region by promoting security cooperation, encouraging peaceful development, responding to contingencies, and deterring aggression,” it added.

A photo released by the U.S. said the meeting had taken place on Aug. 31.

China’s Defense Ministry on Friday also confirmed the meeting, saying that Yang had also held bilateral meetings with representatives from France, Singapore and other countries.

“During the conference, the Chinese side delivered a speech, introducing the Chinese military’s position and achievements in maintaining regional peace and stability, proposing that regional countries strengthen defense exchanges and cooperation to jointly address common challenges,” Senior Col. Jiang Bin, a spokesman for the ministry said.

Paparo’s talks with the PLA commander overseeing Taiwan operations came just weeks ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump’s Sept. 24 meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Washington. Taiwan remains the most sensitive issue in Sino-U.S. ties, and is expected to be discussed during that meeting.

China claims the democratic island as its own and has vowed to bring it under Beijing’s control, by force if necessary. The U.S. does not have diplomatic relations with Taiwan, but is required by law to provide the island with the means to defend itself, selling billions of dollars in weapons to Taipei.

Trump, however, has called into question decades of precedent after his May meeting with Xi in Beijing, when he said he considered a pending $14 billion American arms sales package to Taiwan as leverage in his dealings with the Chinese leader, labeling it “a very good negotiating chip.”

China has ramped up its presence east of Taiwan in recent months, part of what experts say is a bid to establish jurisdiction in the waters and counter Japanese-Philippine cooperation in the area — a move that could aid in a blockade or quarantine of the island.