This week’s phone call followed protracted wrangling over protocol, with the US demanding that Austin speak to a more senior figure – General Xu Qiliang, vice-chairman of China’s Central Military Commission – but Beijing said it would be more appropriate to talk to Wei.

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But the Chinese and US militaries have maintained “smooth” communications through the direct link that was established by the Pentagon and China’s defence ministry in 2008, Zhou Bo, a senior fellow at the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University said.

“As long as they both wish to, they can talk with each other,” said Zhou, who was director of the Chinese defence ministry’s Centre for Security Cooperation.

“There should be more communication between the two major powers, and it is not normal that there has been no dialogue between the Chinese and US defence ministers for a long time”.

Zhou Chenming, a researcher from the Yuan Wang military science and technology think tank in Beijing, said the call could help ease tensions.

According to the statements from both sides, the two exchanged views on Ukraine, with Wei demanding that the US stop using the issue to “slander, frame, threaten and pressure China”.

But Beijing’s statement gave more details on the exchange of Taiwan, with Wei warning that Washington should not underestimate China’s resolve on the issue.

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“I don’t think Austin came mainly to talk to us about Taiwan, but our greatest concern is Taiwan. China is reminding the US that it has to attaches great importance to China’s position on Taiwan,” Zhou Bo said.

But he said the risk of conflicts between the two militaries in the Strait is not necessarily increasing because the US is focused on Ukraine at present.

“In the short term, the US will focus on Europe. It is not in its interest to take the initiative to raise the risk of conflict here,” he said.

Taiwanese foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the US had briefed Taipei about the talks in line with usual practice.

She said Beijing’s focus on Taiwan in the statement “once against distorted the US position and comments on those topics. This actually is a kind of cognitive war against Taiwan”.

Wang Ting-yu, a ruling Democratic Progressive Party legislator who sits on the legislature’s foreign relations and defence affairs committee, said the call reflected US concerns over the mainland’s threats against Taiwan and frequent military exercises in the East and South China Seas.

“Overall, I don’t expect the two sides to achieve any breakthrough in the issues they were concerned about in just a 45-minute phone conversation,” Wang said.

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Li Da-jung, a professor of international relations and strategic studies at Tamkang University in New Taipei, said: “With relations between Beijing and Washington facing the worst strain in decades and the PLA military activities in the South China Sea, where the mainland has built airstrips and other infrastructure atop man-made islands, high-level military talks are essential.”

Wu Riqiang, a military strategy professor at Renmin University in Beijing, said routine communication between the two militaries should be established.

“Even quarrels and disagreements are helpful for knowing each other’s thoughts,” he said.

Additional reporting by Lawrence Chung