US Committed To Finalizing Military Deconfliction Framework With China - Mattis

US military leaders are determined to establish with their Chinese counterparts a deconfliction arrangement, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Friday.

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 10th November, 2018) US military leaders are determined to establish with their Chinese counterparts a deconfliction arrangement, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis said on Friday.

"The United States is committed to finalizing a military-to-military crisis deconfliction and communication framework with China," Mattis said during a joint press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and their Chiense counterparts.

Mattis said that in the high-level meeting with the senior Chinese officials earlier on Friday, both sides sought ways to lessen tensions, maintain open lines of communication between their militaries and reduce the risk of miscalculation.

The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate where ever international law allows it to do so, Mattis added.

The relations of a number of Asian states, including China, Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, are tense with respect to claims in the South China Sea and the East China Sea as they cannot reach an agreement on maritime borders.

Relations between China and the United States have also become increasingly tense given the trade war that ensued after both countries imposed since May tit-for-tat tariffs on billions of Dollars' worth of goods.