A Chinese military delegation has joined a conference co-hosted by the United States for defense officials in Fiji in the Pacific, which Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka has called for dialogue, stating that the Pacific should be a "zone of peace." According to a statement from the Fijian government, General Shao Qi Ling, Vice Chief of Staff of the Joint Staff Department of the Central Military Commission of China, is leading the Chinese delegation at the annual Indian and Pacific Oceans defense officials conference. The conference is hosted by U.S. Pacific and Indian Oceans Command Admiral John Aquilino and Fijian Army Commander Major General Jone Logavatu Kaluinava, and 27 countries from the region are participating.
So far, there has been no comment from the U.S. Pacific and Indian Oceans Command or the Chinese Ministry of Defense regarding the possibility of a bilateral meeting between the Chinese and U.S. delegations during the conference. Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu and his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin did not meet during a security conference in Singapore in June. China rejected a U.S. initiative to hold a meeting.
