U.S. Department of State China Coordinator and Deputy Assistant Secretary for China and Taiwan Mark B. Lambert met with PRC Director-General for Boundary and Ocean Affairs Hong Liang in Beijing, People's Republic of China. The two sides held substantive, constructive, and candid discussions on a range of maritime issues, including the situation in the South China Sea and East China Sea. These consultations are part of ongoing efforts to maintain open lines of communication and responsibly manage the U.S.-China relationship. The United States reiterated the need to resume military-military channels, including between operators, to avoid miscommunication and miscalculation.
The United States underscored concerns with the PRC's dangerous and unlawful actions in the South China Sea, including the PRC's obstruction of an October 22 Philippine resupply mission at Second Thomas Shoal and its unsafe intercept of a U.S. aircraft on October 24.
The meeting followed recent high-level diplomacy, including between Secretary Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan with PRC Director of the CCP Central Foreign Affairs Commission and Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Washington, among other recent bilateral meetings. The two sides reiterated the importance of maintaining open channels of communication.
