US claims on naval meetings 'distortion of facts'

China has refuted accusations by the United States that it failed to appear at senior-level virtual meetings, saying on Thursday that the remarks were "filled with distortion of facts".

"The meetings were not held as scheduled because the US side didn't abide by a consensus reached between the two sides and the responsibility entirely lies on the US side," Senior Captain Liu Wensheng, spokesman of the People's Liberation Army Navy, said in a statement published on the Navy's WeChat account.

He made the remark after Admiral Phil Davidson, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said in a statement on Wednesday that China refused to show up at meetings scheduled for this week related to the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement, which focuses on maritime safety.

Liu said the Chinese and US defense departments had agreed to hold a group meeting and a general-level annual meeting under the China-US maritime military security consultation mechanism via video link this year.

However, despite China offering suggestions on the meetings' topics and arrangements to the US on Nov 18, the US side insisted on pushing its unilateral agenda, arbitrarily shortening the length of the annual meeting, changing the meeting's nature, and even attempting to force China to participate in the meetings before the two sides reached agreement on the topics, he said.

Liu said that the unprofessional, unfriendly and nonconstructive practices of the US showed its consistent bullying style and violated international practices.

Such practices also violated the "Agreement on Establishing a Consultation Mechanism to Strengthen Military Maritime Safety" signed by the two countries' defense departments in 1998, he said, adding that trust between the PLA Navy and the US Indo-Pacific Command had been undermined.

Liu said mutual respect and consensus are principles to be maintained by the Chinese and US militaries in handling all issues.

China attaches great importance to the China-US maritime military security consultation mechanism and is willing to continue to keep in communication with the US on matters related to the meetings, he said.

China hopes the US can stop accusing others in order to shirk its own responsibilities and reach agreement with the Chinese side over relevant issues as soon as possible to facilitate the holding of the meetings, Liu said.