US, Chinese navies agree to maintain dialogue to avoid clashes

After the talks between US chief of naval operations Admiral John Richardson and his Chinese counterpart, Admiral Wu Shengli, scheduled port visits by US and Chinese ships and planned visits to China by senior US Navy officers remained on track, the official said.

"None of that is in jeopardy. Nothing has been canceled," said the official.

Both officers also agreed on the need to stick to protocols established under the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea.

"They agreed that it's very important that both sides continue to use the protocols under the CUES agreement when they're operating close to keep the chances for misunderstanding and any kind of provocation from occurring," said the official.

The talks, by video conference, were held to calm tensions after Beijing rebuked Washington for sending a guided-missile destroyer within 12 nautical miles of one of China's man-made islands in the East Sea's Spratly archipelago on October 27.

A US Navy spokesman stressed Washington's position that US freedom of navigation operations were meant to "protect the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law."

There was no immediate comment from China on the talks. A spokesman for China's Ministry of Defense said earlier that Wu would present Beijing's "solemn position on the US vessel's entry without permission" into waters in the South China Sea.

"We would urge the US side not to continue down the wrong path," Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said. "But if they do, we will take all necessary measures in accordance with the need."

China suffered a setback on October 29 in its broad territorial claims in the South China Sea when an arbitration court in The Hague said it had jurisdiction to hear some territorial claims the Philippines filed against China.