Murrett Quoted in Politico Article on China Canceling of Military Dialogues With the US

August 14, 2023

Politico

Robert B. Murrett

Public Administration & International Affairs Department

Syracuse University Institute for Security Policy & Law

China

International Affairs

National Security

Politico

Robert B. Murrett

A year ago, China cut cooperation with the U.S. in several key areas, including climate, counternarcotics and military dialogues as a reprisal for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s Taiwan trip. Today, Beijing still refuses to lift its cooperation suspension in many of those areas.

Beijing canceled—and refuses to renew—a trio of military dialogues, including China-U.S. Theater Commanders Talks, China U.S. Defense Policy Coordination Talks and the China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meetings. The Chinese government has also denied Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s multiple requests to meet with his counterpart, Li Shangfu.

It matters because high level military contact sends a message “that we’re not looking for anything that might lead to an incident. And if you do have a dustup that does call for national level dialogue, it’s available and something you can fall back on,” says Vice Adm. Robert Murrett (Ret.), professor of practice of public administration and international affairs.

Read more in the Politico article, “China’s non-cooperation list lives on.”