US, China to establish direct military channels

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth yesterday said that Washington and Beijing would establish military-to-military communications channels, adding that bilateral ties between the countries have “never been better.”

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Hegseth said he spoke with his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun, late Saturday on the sidelines of a regional security meeting and that they agreed that “peace, stability and good relations are the best path for our two great and strong countries.”

His remarks posted on X came hours after he urged Southeast Asian nations to stand firm and strengthen their maritime forces to counter China’s increasingly “destabilizing” actions in the South China Sea.