US calls on China to 'open lines of communication' after plane incident

The US military said a Chinese fighter pilot flew dangerously close to a US surveillance plane over the South China Sea last week, with Beijing blaming the incident on US “provocative actions”.

My call to China to open a contact line after the plane crash picture 1 — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Photo: Reuters

The Pentagon also said that Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu refused to talk to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin when the two were in Singapore this week for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.

Secretary of State Blinken said the US planes were "flying in international airspace on a routine mission. There has been a series of these actions not only directed at us but also directed at other countries in recent months".

“I think this underscores why it is important that we have open, regular lines of communication, including between our secretaries of defense,” he added.

“The most dangerous thing is not communicating and the result is misunderstanding and misinformation… We want to make sure that this does not lead to conflict and the most important starting point is reopening the lines of communication,” Mr. Blinken said.

Secretary of State Blinken canceled a trip to Beijing in February after the US said it detected a Chinese surveillance balloon over US territory, before shooting it down and escalating tensions between the two powers.

Bui Huy (according to AFP)

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