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3 June 2024

U.S., Chinese Defense Chiefs Confirm Plan to Reopen Hotlines in First Face-to-Face Meeting

Feliz Solomon and Chun Han Wong

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met China’s new defense minister face-to-face for the first time and reaffirmed plans to reopen direct lines of communication between their militaries, part of an effort by both sides to prevent frictions in Asia from shattering a fragile rapprochement.

Communication was a primary topic of discussion in Austin’s meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Adm. Dong Jun, at the start of a security conference in Singapore, according to a readout of the encounter provided by the Pentagon.

Progress should come over the next months, the Pentagon said, with the resumption of phone conversations between U.S. and Chinese theater commanders. The two sides also plan to convene a crisis-communications working group by the end of the year.

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