Before U.S. Defense Secretary Gen. Jim Mattis visited China this week, he had made strongly worded public remarks criticizing China’s growing military presence in the South China Sea.
He was expected to discuss this and other tough diplomatic issues that have increased tensions between the United States and China.
When he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on June 27, Xi did not back down.
“We cannot lose even one inch of the territory left behind by our ancestors,” Chinese state television cited Xi as saying.
Mattis, meanwhile, told reporters that talks with Xi had been “very, very” good, but did not elaborate.
Earlier that day, Mattis also met with his Chinese counterpart, China’s defense minister Wei Fenghe, who similarly made clear China’s hardline positions regarding Taiwan and the South China Sea, according to the defense ministry. Beijing sees Taiwan as part of its territory and has threatened the use of force to reunite it with the mainland, while the United States has recently increased diplomatic ties with the democratic island, upsetting China.
In the South China Sea, China has made claims of sovereignty on several disputed islands, while building manmade islands on reefs in the region. The United States has challenged China’s claims by conducting freedom-of-navigation exercises in the area.
It appears the two sides do not plan on budging from their stances, though U.S. defense officials told reporters that the talks were generally positive and candid.
“Areas of disagreement were identified but not necessarily dwelt upon,” said Randall Schriver, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, adding that both sides agreed to continue discussions on the South China Sea.
Perhaps actions speak louder than words. As Mattis was in China, American aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan was deployed on June 26 to patrol the disputed waters in the South China Sea. Afterward, it anchored in Manila Bay, Philippines, where naval officials from both countries met, according to the Associated Press.
The Philippines has challenged China’s claims in the region.
