U.S. and Chinese Generals Emphasize the Necessity To Maintain Stable Military Ties

Dec. 4, 2019 (EIRNS)—Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley spoke by phone with the People’s Liberation Army Chief of the Joint Staff Department Gen. Li Zuocheng. “The two military leaders both agreed on the value of a productive dialogue, effectively managing differences, and cooperation on areas of common ground,” a U.S. military statement said, U.S. News & World Report wrote.  The two generals also promised to create “an opportunity to discuss building a constructive and results-oriented defense relationship,” it said. The conversation between Milley and Li was not their first. The pair met in Beijing in 2016 when they were both heads of their respective armies.

According to Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post, an unnamed source close to the PLA’s Joint Staff Department said the conversation between the two

“means military ties between the PLA and their American counterparts will remain stable even though [China] banned American warships and aircraft from making port visits in Hong Kong. ... The ban on port calls is just a diplomatic and political gesture to pacify the Chinese public after Trump signed the Hong Kong bill. The PLA doesn’t really want to fight with the Americans,”

the source said.

The telephone call was initiated on Dec. 3, a day after Beijing announced on Dec. 2 it was blocking visits to Hong Kong by U.S. warships and aircraft in response to President Donald Trump signing the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act into law.