Xi Summit Exposes US-China Military Crisis Failures — SkimNews
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- China's readout from Xi's Washington visit said the two militaries "agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding as soon as possible on strengthening crisis communication," but the White House fact sheet omitted that commitment; a U.S. official (per the South China Morning Post) denied the discussion took place.
- The current Defense Telephone Link requires 48 hours' notice to arrange a call and another 24 hours for the other side to respond (per the International Crisis Group), leaving little time for emergencies like an aircraft collision in the South China Sea.
- After Nancy Pelosi's August 2022 Taiwan visit, Beijing canceled theater commander dialogues and suspended defense meetings; for more than a year, senior US and Chinese military officers had few opportunities to speak directly.
- In early 2023, after the US military shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, the US defense secretary tried to arrange a call with his Chinese counterpart, but China reportedly rejected the request.
- The 2001 EP-3 collision shows how communication can collapse in a real crisis: the US embassy tried to reach Beijing after the midair collision but received few answers during the first 12 hours.
- The proposed MoU would require acknowledgment of an urgent message within 30 minutes and keep emergency hotlines separate from regular defense talks so political disputes cannot block urgent contacts.
- The International Crisis Group has called for crisis simulations — such as a hypothetical aircraft collision over the South China Sea — as a joint exercise before the next APEC summit.
Why it matters: Existing US-China crisis mechanisms can take up to 72 hours to arrange a call, and during the 2023 surveillance balloon incident China reportedly rejected the US defense secretary's request for contact. A 30-minute acknowledgment rule, as the source proposes, would keep emergency lines open even when political disputes — like those triggered by Pelosi's 2022 Taiwan visit — otherwise freeze military exchanges.
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