US Defence Secretary Mark Esper to visit China this year

Mr Esper said the trip would be to establish the systems necessary for crisis communications

US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper speaks during a press conference at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. AFP

US Defence Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday he plans to visit China this year for talks on “crisis communications” as Washington takes a tougher stance against Beijing in the disputed South China Sea.

Mr Esper said he had spoken to his Chinese counterpart several times and hopes to make the trip by the year’s end.

He told a security seminar that one of the goals of the visit would be to “establish the systems necessary for crisis communications and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong”.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said last week the US would treat Beijing’s pursuit of resources in the South China Sea as illegal, gathering support for Southeast Asian nations with rival claims and triggering a furious response from Beijing.

It was the latest forceful statement by President Donald Trump’s administration to challenge China, which he has increasingly cast as an enemy before November elections.

“We are making clear: Beijing’s claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them,” Mr Pompeo said in a statement.

Mr Esper said on Tuesday that China “has no right to turn international waters into a zone of exclusion for its own maritime empire”.

“We are not in search of conflict. We are committed to a constructive and results oriented relationship with China and, within our defence relationship, to open lines of communication and risk reduction,” he said.