The United States is preparing to respond to China’s “increasing aggressiveness” in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea after Beijing conducted two “unsafe” intercepts in recent days, a senior official said on Monday.
The warning from National Security Council spokesman John Kirby underscores growing U.S. concern about dangerous interactions between U.S. and Chinese militaries on international air and sea routes. It comes as Beijing rejects U.S. attempts to reestablish military communications between the two countries.
Kirby said the intercepts were a “significant part” of the “increasing aggressiveness” of the People’s Liberation Army, particularly around the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea.
“We’re ready to address this,” Kirby added, describing China’s behavior in recent days as “unacceptable.”
“They’re happening more often than we’d like,” he said of the interception. “Not all of them were unsafe and unprofessional, but these two were.”
Kirby’s comments came after the U.S. Navy released a video on Sunday of an “unsafe interaction” in the Taiwan Strait when a Chinese warship passed in front of a U.S. destroyer. Earlier last week, the Pentagon accused a Chinese fighter jet of conducting “unnecessarily aggressive maneuvers” in the South China Sea.
China has warned Western troops not to enter waters and airspace close to China’s borders if they want to avoid a dangerous confrontation with the People’s Liberation Army.
Kirby said on Monday that such incidents could lead to miscalculation and urged Beijing to join U.S. efforts to restart military talks. He added that the United States operates on international territory and will continue to do so as permitted by law.
Last week, the Pentagon accused a Chinese fighter jet of conducting “unnecessarily aggressive maneuvers” in the South China Sea
two senior U.S. officials — Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Krittenbrink and National Security Council Senior Director for China and Taiwan Sarah Beran — met with Chinese officials in Beijing on Monday , which is part of Washington’s efforts to increase engagement to manage the relationship between powers.
Officials expressed their concerns about the interception and discussed efforts to improve communication between Beijing and Washington.
“The two sides had candid and productive discussions as part of an ongoing effort to keep lines of communication open and to underpin recent high-level diplomacy between the two countries,” the State Department said.
CIA Director Bill Burns traveled to China last month to try to stabilize strained diplomatic relations, the Financial Times reported last week.
Meanwhile, the Biden administration has been trying to reschedule a trip to Beijing that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken abruptly canceled after China launched a spy balloon over the United States earlier this year. Beijing has so far refused to let the trip go ahead.
Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu also declined to meet U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a conference in Singapore over the weekend after Washington refused to lift sanctions against him, although the two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries at a dinner at the event.
In his speech at the Shangri-La Dialogue, Austin criticized China for the recent air crash.