U.S., Chinese navy chiefs to discuss South China Sea: U.S. official
- 9 years ago
The Chinese and U.S. navies are set to hold high-level talks over tensions in the South China Sea after a U.S. warship challenged Beijing's territorial assertiveness in the disputed waterway this week.
The U.S. chief of naval operations and his Chinese counterpart will hold an hour long video teleconference Thursday, days after Beijing was angered by a U.S. warship's patrol within a 12-mile limit around a man-made Chinese island in the South China Sea, a U.S. official said.
The patrol was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to territorial limits China claims around its artificial islands in one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
"Neither the U.S. nor China desires a military conflict, but the key problem is that the core interests of both sides collide in the South China Sea," said Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
"It's hard to see either side backing down."
The U.S. chief of naval operations and his Chinese counterpart will hold an hour long video teleconference Thursday, days after Beijing was angered by a U.S. warship's patrol within a 12-mile limit around a man-made Chinese island in the South China Sea, a U.S. official said.
The patrol was the most significant U.S. challenge yet to territorial limits China claims around its artificial islands in one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
"Neither the U.S. nor China desires a military conflict, but the key problem is that the core interests of both sides collide in the South China Sea," said Ni Lexiong, a naval expert at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
"It's hard to see either side backing down."