Beijing hosts senior maritime officials from 30 countries

according to the report of the International Group Tasnim News Agency, Beijing has held a biennial meeting of senior naval officials of foreign countries in the port city of Qingdao amid tensions in the China Sea. South started.

According to this report, the 4-day event with the presence of representatives of the navies of 30 countries of the world began today amid rising tensions in the South China Sea, while Manila as one of America’s allies in Asia is increasingly It is involved in tumultuous deadlocks with Beijing over strategic waterways, and this issue has become one of the factors of tension in relations between the United States and China.

a An informed source announced that General Stephen Koller, commander of the US Army’s Pacific Fleet, is present in this meeting on behalf of the United States. The media reported that representatives from other countries, including Australia, France, India, South Korea, Russia and the United Kingdom, are among the others present at this meeting.

Participants in this meeting hold discussions behind closed doors in the field of maritime security. They will also discuss unplanned engagements at sea, a set of guidelines drafted over the past decade, tools to reduce tensions between naval forces at sea.

based According to media reports, in the preliminary meeting of this meeting, which was held in January, there was talk about the formation of a working group to prevent drone collisions at sea.

This meeting with the annual US-Philippines naval exercises starting on Monday be, is simultaneous. The exercises that will be held for the first time outside the territorial waters of the Philippines.

This comes amid rising tensions around the Thomas Shoal II Islands in the South China Sea, where Manila accuses Beijing of harassment. including the use of naval cannons against Philippine ships.

In the same vein, the US, Japan and the Philippines last week signed a new cooperation agreement at a trilateral meeting, where the countries’ leaders shared their concerns about threats and aggressive behavior. in the South China Sea, they expressed.

China is hosting this multilateral meeting for the first time since 2014, which will be held on Tuesday, the 75th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Navy.

Meanwhile, a few days ago, US Defense Minister Lloyd Austin, in a conversation with his Chinese counterpart, for the first time in two years, emphasized the need to strengthen contacts The military emphasized at a high level, while both countries want to improve military relations. This month, US and Chinese military officials met each other in Hawaii.

Currently, one of the main tensions between China and the United States is over the issue of Taiwan. Taiwan has been governed by the local government since 1949, since then Taiwan has used the flag and some other symbols of the People’s Republic of China that existed in mainland China before the Communist Party came to power in China. Beijing has always considered this island as an integral part of the Chinese motherland, and this position is supported by many countries, including Russia. “RTL” style=”text-align:justify”>China always claims says that Taiwan should be under the sovereignty of this country, and for the past three years, it has tried to subjugate Taiwan by carrying out military operations near this island, but the government of Taiwan has always declared that it has independent sovereignty and the people of this country They have to decide for their fate.

In 1979, while officially establishing diplomatic relations with the Chinese government, the US cut ties with Taiwan. While the US insists on the “One China” policy, it does not support China’s claim of sovereignty over Taiwan and remains a key military supporter of Taipei.

Meanwhile, Beijing Washington, as Taiwan’s largest arms supplier, has repeatedly asked Washington to refrain from selling and sending weapons to the island in order to reduce Fimabin tensions.

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