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06:51 GMT
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (KUNA) -- A US military official underlined Washington's support for a wider range of military-to-military communications with China for deconfliction and de-escalation in the Indo-Pacific.
This came during a meeting between Deputy Assistant Secretary of War for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Alvaro Smith and People's Republic of China (PRC) Major General Ye Jiang, Deputy Director of the Central Military Commission Office for International Military Cooperation, in Washington, D.C. for the 19th annual U.S.-China Defense Policy Coordination Talks from December 15-16, the US Department of War said in a press release.
During the meeting, Smith reiterated the Department's support for a wider range of military-to-military communications with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with the goal of supporting strategic stability as well as crisis deconfliction and de-escalation, more broadly.
Smith explained how such lines of communication align with and help to reinforce ongoing efforts by President Trump to achieve a stable peace and respectful relations between the United States and China.
He also reiterated that America's interests in the Indo-Pacific are significant, but also scoped and reasonable, and that the Department stands ready to defend them.
This week's talks follow Secretary of War Pete Hegseth's meeting with China's Minister of National Defense Admiral Dong Jun on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting Plus (ADMM+) on October 31. (end)
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