Calls indicate crisis management fraying

Phone calls that were said to have been made by the US' military chief to a Chinese peer－to reassure China it would not be attacked in the waning days of Donald Trump's presidency－highlight the need to "improve crisis management mechanisms" between the two nations' armed forces, a scholar said.

General Mark Milley, appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by Trump and retained by his successor as US president, Joe Biden, covertly called the official in China twice to reassure him that the United States would not attack its strategic rival during a volatile tail-end to Trump's tenure in the White House, a book claims. It was claimed that Milley pledged to relay advance notice should Trump order an attack.

The upcoming book Peril, by Washington Post journalists Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, reveals details surrounding the controversy of the "secret" calls. Trump called Milley's actions treasonous, and some Republican lawmakers urged Biden to fire him.

Biden expressed "great confidence" in Milley. White House press secretary Jen Psaki rejected calls for his dismissal, saying the same critics were silent as Trump "fomented an insurrection" at the Capitol in Washington on Jan 6.

In a bristling statement criticizing Milley on Tuesday, Trump said: "For the record, I never even thought of attacking China－and China knows that. The people that fabricated the story are sick and demented, and the people who print it are just as bad."

Douglas Paal, a scholar in the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, noted that Woodward sensationalized and distorted reports of Milley's calls and that he agrees with Biden about the propriety of the calls.

"Biden is right, and Trump is wrong. Milley proceeded through proper interagency channels and conveyed appropriate messages,"Paal told China Daily, adding that the secret calls" (were) contained in the spirit of the communication".

Insufficient dialogue

But in Paal's view, the fundamental issue between the US and China is not miscommunication; yet, poor communications do not help if the most important bilateral relationship is to be repaired.

Paal believes that dialogue was insufficient between the US and China under Trump's presidency.

As for the Biden administration, it simultaneously has accomplished significantly less than it should have and, in some areas, less than the previous administration did, Paal said.

"Things were bad under Trump, but the defense segment did a more appropriate job than the rest of the Trump administration," Paal said. "Unfortunately, the Biden administration has not made headway to improving military-to-military communication, for reasons of protocol that are hard to understand and normally, regularly resolved."

Paal expressed hope that the White House would reach the same level of communication as the Trump administration's Department of Defense. "So far, as much as I can tell, it has not," he said.

"There seems to be a desire in China to improve crisis management mechanisms. I hope the Biden people seize this apparent opportunity and improve direct communication," Paal said.

Milley had 'no choice'

According to Max Boot, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations,"Milley had no choice but to do what he did". In an article in The Washington Post, Boot said:"Milley should be commended for acting to limit an unhinged commander-in-chief's ability to overthrow the government or start a war."

Milley's spokesman said on Wednesday that Milley acted within his authority as the president's and secretary of defense's most senior uniformed adviser, arguing that the contacts were made to avoid conflicts.

"The chairman of the Joint Chiefs regularly communicates with chiefs of defense across the world, including with China and Russia," the spokesman said in a statement.

"These conversations remain vital to improving mutual understanding of US national security interests, reducing tensions, providing clarity and avoiding unintended consequences or conflict. His calls with the Chinese and others in October and January were in keeping with these duties and responsibilities conveying reassurance in order to maintain strategic stability."