MOSCOW, November 20 (Sputnik) Svetlana Alexandrova – Agreements recently made between the United States and China aimed at avoiding military conflict might in fact serve as a backdrop for a potential confrontation between them, Alexei Pushkov, a member of Russia's State Duma, said Thursday.
"Agreement on the prevention of armed conflicts between China and the United States means that clashes between the two countries are possible," Pushkov, chairman of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, said at a press conference at the Rossiya Segodnya press center Thursday.
"Even now American planes are constantly patrolling the Pacific region where China has territorial conflicts with some of the US allies regarding several islands", the lawmaker said.
"The possibility for a confrontation still exists," Pushkov added.
The countries reached two military deals aimed at avoiding military confrontations in Asia during US President Barack Obama's visit to China earlier in November. Described by the White House as "military-to-military confidence-building mechanisms (CBM)," the deals stipulate the notification of major military activities, policy and strategy development, and outline rules of engagement for air and maritime incidents.
The deals are aimed at "increasing transparency and predictability" and "reducing risk of unintended incidents," the White House said, and both sides have committed to further develop the mechanisms.
