U.S. Department of Defense Hosts First Crisis Communications Working Group With the People's Republic of China People's Liberation Army

 Oct. 29, 2020

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On October 28 and 29, 2020, U.S. and Chinese defense officials convened the first Crisis Communications Working Group by video teleconference to discuss concepts of crisis communications, crisis prevention, and crisis management.

The meeting provided an opportunity to build mutual understanding between the U.S. military and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) on principles to prevent and manage crisis and reduce risk to forces. The two sides agreed on the importance of establishing mechanisms for timely communication during a crisis, as well as the need to maintain regular communication channels to prevent crisis and conduct post-crisis assessment.

The U.S. delegation, as host, included representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Staff, and the United States Indo-Pacific Command. The Chinese delegation included representatives of the Central Military Commission’s (CMC) Office for International Military Cooperation, the CMC Joint Staff Department, and the PLA Southern Theater Command.