Shortly before the Xiangshan Forum in Beijing, Admiral Paparo, commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, held his first face-to-face meeting with Yang Zhibing, commander of the Eastern Theater Command of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.
PLA Eastern Theater Command Commander Yang Zhibin met with US Indo-Pacific Command commander Paparo in Canada, and the two sides discussed maintaining high-level communication and signing a memorandum on crisis communication.
US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral Paparo stated at a regional security conference in Kuala Lumpur that China and other actors are using claims of false legitimacy to justify acts of intimidation and coercion.
According to CSIS expert Lin Yang's remarks at a seminar in September, US Indo-Pacific Command Commander Paparo and PLA Eastern Theater Command Commander Yang Zhibin held their first theater-level face-to-face meeting during the Indo-Pacific Defense Chiefs Meeting held in Canada in late August.