Assistant Secretary for Defense, Ely Ratner: It Is “Only a Matter of Time” Before a “Major Incident Or Accident” Occurs
- Assistant Secretary for Defense, Ely Ratner: It Is “Only a Matter of Time” Before a “Major Incident Or Accident” Occurs
by Brooke Singman | Fox News
Biden to speak with Xi amid warnings that China poses greatest threat to US national security
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President Biden is expected to have a call with Chinese President Xi Jinping this week, the White House said, calling the United States’ relationship with Beijing “one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world,” as U.S. officials double down on their warnings that China poses the greatest long-term threat to U.S. national security.
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“This is one of the most consequential bilateral relationships in the world and in one of the most important parts of the world,” White House National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications John Kirby said Tuesday. Kirby could not give a “specific” date and time for the call between Biden and Xi, but said he expects it to happen “probably this week.”
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Kirby said Biden and Xi would discuss “everything from the tensions over Taiwan to the war in Ukraine, as well as how we better manage competition between our two nations, certainly in the economic sphere.”
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“There’s a host of issues, and this is a discussion that, quite frankly, has been playing for a long time,” Kirby said, noting that Biden and Xi have a “pretty robust agenda of things” to discuss. The call between Biden and Xi comes as Pentagon and intelligence officials warn of the threat China poses to U.S. national security.
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Assistant Secretary for Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner said Tuesday that it is “only a matter of time” before a “major incident or accident” occurs in the Indo-Pacific amid China’s “aggressive and irresponsible” behavior, saying that Beijing has “escalated tensions” with its neighbors in the region “at a pace unseen before.”
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