From November 6-8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Chinese Ministry of Defense held the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) in Shandong, China.
The discussions focused on maritime and aviation security, the annual assessment of implementing the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) between China and the U.S., measures to enhance maritime security, and setting the agenda for the 2025 working group meeting.
Some critics argue that the MMCA may not yield significant results, given the non-binding nature of its commitments and ongoing differences between the two countries:
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- MMCA is a non-legally binding framework, intended to facilitate dialogue but subject to cancellation or modification based on political conditions. In fact, the MMCA was suspended after Nancy Pelosi's 2022 visit to Taiwan.
- On the substance of the discussions, there are notable disagreements on maritime security, especially in disputed areas like the South China Sea. The U.S. has called for transparency and safety in China's military activities while China has criticized U.S. military operations, particularly freedom of navigation operations near disputed territories, which China views as violations of its sovereignty.
However, the MMCA remains relevant, particularly during the ongoing U.S.-China competition:
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- Its flexible, non-binding structure allows for more frequent dialogue and easier implementation compared to more rigid, commitment-heavy mechanisms that have failed in past negotiations.
- The MMCA reflects a bottom-up approach to cooperation. When high-level dialogues are difficult, both sides continue to use lower-level channels to manage conflict risks. For example, while China refused to meet the U.S. on the sidelines of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM+) in November 2024 over the U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, the MMCA meeting proceeded as planned.
In practice, the MMCA has played a consistent role in U.S.-China relations since its inception in 1998, serving as a dedicated military maritime mechanism to facilitate direct communication through CUES, ensuring safety during unexpected encounters between military vessels. The MMCA was last held in December 2021 and reconvened in April 2024 following the U.S.-China summit on the sidelines of the 2023 APEC Leaders' Week.
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