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China’s military
ChinaMilitary

US Pacific Fleet commander to attend as Chinese Navy hosts Western Pacific symposium: sources

  • Admiral Stephen Koehler will lead US delegation to symposium hosted by PLA Navy and meet “Chinese counterparts”, diplomatic sources tell the Post
  • Navies of 29 nations to join four-day event in Qingdao from Sunday, which coincides with commemorations for the PLA Navy’s 75th anniversary

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Senior Colonel Qu Tao (right) and a PLA Navy spokesman salute at the end of a press conference on Saturday in Qingdao, in eastern China’s Shandong province. Photo: AP
William ZhengandAlyssa Chen
Over 180 navy representatives from 29 countries will gather in China’s port city of Qingdao tomorrow for the launch of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) has said.

Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Stephen Koehler, will be leading the American delegation to the four-day event hosted by the Chinese navy, according to diplomatic sources.

Koehler is expected to meet “his Chinese counterparts” during the symposium, themed “Seas of Shared Future”, a diplomat with knowledge of the matter told the Post.

“Both sides are looking for more communications,” said a second diplomatic source, who also confirmed that Koehler would attend.

In response to an inquiry from the Post, a US Navy spokesman said: “[The] US Pacific Fleet is planning to participate in a multilateral military engagement that is hosted this year by the People’s Republic of China and focuses on maritime safety issues.”

This comes just four days after US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke to his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Dong Jun. Tuesday’s video conference was the first US-China exchange at the defence chief level in nearly 17 months and the first since Dong was appointed to the role in December.

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