U.S.–China Military Military Diplomacy

Chinese and U.S. Militaries Hold 2026 Military Maritime Consultative Agreement Working Group Meeting in Hawaii

中美两军在美国夏威夷举行2026年度中美海上军事安全磋商机制工作小组会议

PLA Daily (解放军报) 1 June 2026

Summary

The Chinese and U.S. militaries held the 2026 MMCA working group meeting in Hawaii on May 28–29, reviewing CUES implementation since the 2025 session and discussing measures to reduce air and maritime friction. The meeting documents the bilateral incident-management channel functioning at its scheduled cadence, but the Chinese readout's explicit objections to freedom of navigation operations and close-in reconnaissance embed a standing political demand inside a technical safety forum — a pattern that complicates the channel's utility as a purely operational deconfliction mechanism.

Translation

From May 28 to 29, the Chinese and U.S. militaries held the 2026 Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) working group meeting in Hawaii, United States. Guided by the important consensus on building a "constructive China-U.S. strategic stability relationship," the two sides conducted candid and constructive exchanges on the current China-U.S. air and maritime security situation on the basis of equality and mutual respect, assessed implementation of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) since the 2025 MMCA meeting, and discussed measures to improve China-U.S. maritime military security issues. Both sides agreed that effective communication and exchanges between the two militaries help frontline forces carry out their missions more professionally and enhance mutual understanding while avoiding misunderstandings and miscalculations. At the same time, the Chinese side firmly opposes any actions that, under the name of freedom of navigation and overflight, endanger China's sovereignty and security; firmly opposes any rights-infringing provocations and close-in reconnaissance harassment targeting China; and will continue to resolutely safeguard national territorial sovereignty and maritime rights and interests in accordance with laws and regulations, and uphold regional peace and prosperity.

Original Chinese

5月28日至29日，中美两军在美国夏威夷举行2026年度中美海上军事安全磋商机制工作小组会议。双方以构建“中美建设性战略稳定关系”重要共识为引领，在平等和尊重基础上，就当前中美海空安全形势进行了坦诚、建设性交流，对2025年中美海上军事安全磋商机制会议以来的《中美海空相遇安全行为准则》执行情况进行了评估，讨论了改进中美海上军事安全问题的措施。双方一致认为，两军进行有效沟通交流，有助于一线部队更加专业地执行任务，增进相互了解、避免误解误判。同时，中方坚决反对任何以航行和飞越自由为名危害中国主权和安全，反对任何针对中方的侵权挑衅和抵近侦察滋扰，将继续依法依规坚定维护国家领土主权和海洋权益，维护地区和平繁荣。