中国、米国防長官との電話会談拒否？　「外交儀礼無視」

【ワシントンＡＦＰ＝時事】中国が外交儀礼の問題を理由に同国軍トップと米国防長官との電話会談を拒否していると報じられたことについて、国防総省のジョン・カービー報道官は２５日、米側は引き続き接触を試みていると明らかにした。（写真は資料写真）
　英フィナンシャル・タイムズ（ＦＴ）は、ロイド・オースティン米国防長官が中国側に３回にわたって電話会談を申し入れたが、いずれも拒否されたと伝えた。この報道自体は否定されていない。
　共産党機関紙・人民日報系の環球時報によると、オースティン氏は中国の魏鳳和国防相だけでなく、中央軍事委員会の許其亮副主席とも接触を試みた。同委は中国軍を監督する共産党の機関で、許氏は強大な権力を持つ。
　同紙は、中国は米との軍事協議に応じる用意があるものの、オースティン氏が習近平国家主席に近い許氏との接触を試みたことは「外交儀礼と国際社会の慣行を無視した、職業上の道義にもとる非友好的な行為だ」と指摘した。同紙の報道には、政府の見解が反映されていることが多い。
　カービー報道官は、オースティン氏が中国軍トップと接触できていないことを認めた上で、米国は対話を希望しており、どのような形で実現できるかを現在も検討していると説明した。
　中国との緊張が高まるなか、米国防総省は両国防衛トップ級による協議開催を望んでいるとこれまでも公言してきた。
　米中の国防関係は、２０１８年６月にジェームズ・マティス元国防長官がより良い連絡ルートの開設を協議するため北京を訪問して以降、大きく後退している。
　協議は結実せず、マティス氏の後任のマーク・エスパー氏は昨年、中国側との会談を取り付けるに至らなかった。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2021/05/27-12:32）

A US defense spokesman said Tuesday that the Pentagon was still trying to connect with Chinese military chiefs amid reports that Beijing was rejecting calls on protocol issues.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been rebuffed three times in attempted calls to Chinese counterparts, according to a Financial Times report that has not been denied.
China's government-allied Global Times newspaper reported that while China is open to bilateral military discussions, Austin had tried to connect with Xu Qiliang, the powerful vice chairman of the Central Military Commission, the Chinese Communist Party organ which oversees the military, rather than just with the country's Minister of Defense, Wei Fenghe.
Austin's approach of trying to see Xu, who is close to President Xi Jinping, was an unprofessional and unfriendly act of disregarding diplomatic protocol and international common practice, wrote the Global Times, which often echos official views.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed that Austin has not connected with China's top military officials.
We certainly desire to have a dialogue with our counterparts in Beijing, and we're still working our way through exactly what that's going to look like and how that's going to transpire, he said Tuesday.
The Pentagon has been open about the desire to have top-level bilateral discussions with China amid a rise in tensions between the two sides.
Washington has kept up a strong military presence in the region, especially with naval deployments, to make clear its rejection of Beijing's claim on disputed territories in the South China Sea, its threat to retake US ally Taiwan by force, and its expanded military presence beyond East Asia.
China meanwhile sees the regular passage of US ships through the South China Sea and the Taiwan Straits as threats to its sovereignty, and its dealings with Taiwan as a strictly domestic issue.
China's frequent air force patrols into Taiwan's regional airspace, and the United States' continuing supplies of advanced defense equipment to Taiwan, has raised worries that the island could become a flashpoint between the two superpowers.
Relations between the two sides' militaries have ebbed sharply since former US Defense Secretary James Mattis visited Beijing for talks on opening better channels of communication in June 2018.
Those discussions did not bear fruit, and Mattis' successor Mark Esper was unable to set up a meeting with his counterpart last year.
Austin and Wei were expected to have an opportunity for informal talks in early June at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue Asian security summit, but the event was cancelled last week due to ongoing Covid-19 concerns.