WASHINGTON -- American and Chinese officials are debating new
rules of military conduct, a task given greater urgency by what the
U.S. describes as a close scrape with a fighter jet off the coast of
China.
In this, the second round of talks, the two sides will get down to brass tacks. The latest meeting began Tuesday at the U.S. Department of Defense and will continue through the week.
The Americans are proposing specific guidelines for how close and in what manner military ships and aircraft approach each other. These could include keeping a minimum distance of around 200 meters in the skies and avoiding threatening approaches.
Earlier this month, a Chinese fighter jet buzzed a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the South China Sea, coming within 6 meters of the American P-8 Poseidon, according to the Pentagon.
The U.S. military will continue to conduct reconnaissance flights in international airspace, American officials will tell their Chinese counterparts at the meeting. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, echoed this position at a news conference Tuesday, stressing the need to fulfill America's security commitments in Asia.
Following the latest jet intercept, the U.S. has asked China to rein in reckless pilots. There have been at least four such incidents this year.
Washington is hoping that the bilateral exercise in rule-setting will both call Chinese President Xi Jinping's attention to goings-on in the military and prompt efforts from the armed forces themselves to prevent accidental clashes.
Back in 2001, a Chinese fighter jet crashed after colliding with a U.S. Navy spy plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing on the island of Hainan. But the rules of behavior created in the wake of that accident, with the aim of preventing another, gradually fell by the wayside through Chinese disregard.
In recent months, Chinese forces have on notable occasions flouted international norms of behavior in the skies and on the high seas. Last December, a Chinese navy ship cut across the path of the missile ship USS Cowpens, which was traveling in international waters, at a distance of only about 91 meters, forcing it to take evasive action, according to the Pentagon.
For its part, the Chinese insist that U.S. snooping, both aerial and naval, poses the real danger of a mishap.
In this, the second round of talks, the two sides will get down to brass tacks. The latest meeting began Tuesday at the U.S. Department of Defense and will continue through the week.
The Americans are proposing specific guidelines for how close and in what manner military ships and aircraft approach each other. These could include keeping a minimum distance of around 200 meters in the skies and avoiding threatening approaches.
Earlier this month, a Chinese fighter jet buzzed a U.S. Navy patrol plane over the South China Sea, coming within 6 meters of the American P-8 Poseidon, according to the Pentagon.
The U.S. military will continue to conduct reconnaissance flights in international airspace, American officials will tell their Chinese counterparts at the meeting. Rear Adm. John Kirby, the Pentagon press secretary, echoed this position at a news conference Tuesday, stressing the need to fulfill America's security commitments in Asia.
Following the latest jet intercept, the U.S. has asked China to rein in reckless pilots. There have been at least four such incidents this year.
Washington is hoping that the bilateral exercise in rule-setting will both call Chinese President Xi Jinping's attention to goings-on in the military and prompt efforts from the armed forces themselves to prevent accidental clashes.
Back in 2001, a Chinese fighter jet crashed after colliding with a U.S. Navy spy plane, which was forced to make an emergency landing on the island of Hainan. But the rules of behavior created in the wake of that accident, with the aim of preventing another, gradually fell by the wayside through Chinese disregard.
In recent months, Chinese forces have on notable occasions flouted international norms of behavior in the skies and on the high seas. Last December, a Chinese navy ship cut across the path of the missile ship USS Cowpens, which was traveling in international waters, at a distance of only about 91 meters, forcing it to take evasive action, according to the Pentagon.
For its part, the Chinese insist that U.S. snooping, both aerial and naval, poses the real danger of a mishap.
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