High Trade Tensions, US-China Should Avoid Military Conflict

BANDUNG – China and the United States (US) must avoid unintentional military conflict considering that the current trade tension between the two central countries is high.

China and the US must discuss ways to avoid unintentional conflict, said Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe to his US counterpart, Secretary of Defense James Mattis, at a meeting in Washington on Friday (11/09/2018), after a maritime incident between the two country last month.

“The Chinese and US military forces must manage risk properly, discuss ways to avoid unintentional conflict and allow military relations to function as a stabilizer for relations between the two countries,” Wei was quoted as saying by Bloomberg on Saturday (11/10/2018).

U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (L) welcomes Chinese Minister of National Defense Gen. Wei Fenghe to the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., November 9, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas

The meeting came amid a US Pacific Fleet plan to hold a global show of force this month involving American warships, warplanes and troops.

Earlier last month, Chinese and US warships experienced close encounters in the disputed South China Sea, sparking tensions between the world’s two largest economies already involved in a prolonged trade war.