17 December 2020
- RSIS
- Media Mentions
- U.S. Stood Up by China at Military Safety Meeting; People’s Liberation Army No-Show at Scheduled Bilateral Dialogue is the First in Memory, U.S. Defence Official Says
U.S. Stood Up by China at Military Safety Meeting; People’s Liberation Army No-Show at Scheduled Bilateral Dialogue is the First in Memory, U.S. Defence Official Says
The U.S. military accused China’s People’s Liberation Army of skipping a scheduled bilateral discussion on aviation and maritime safety this week, a rare snub that comes at a sensitive moment in the soured relationship between Washington and Beijing. The PLA no-show “is just baffling,” said Dr Collin Koh, a Research Fellow at the RSIS in Singapore. The move contradicts China’s position on maintaining dialogue and communication channels—some of which the Trump administration has been closing—that can prevent bilateral tensions from spilling over into the military arena, Mr. Koh said. “It might be construed, for right or wrong reasons, as Beijing’s attempt to test the incoming Biden administration,” he said.
IDSS / Online
Last updated on 18/12/2020
