In early November, after meeting China’s defense minister, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth performed a longstanding ritual in military relations between the United States and China: He announced that the two countries would “set up military-to-military channels to deconflict and de-escalate” problems between them. Like most rituals, this one is unlikely to have any practical effect. The pursuit of effective crisis communications channels between the American and Chinese militaries to mitigate the risk of crisis escalation has been a work in progress since President Bill Clinton was in office. Progress, however, has been halting and largely unproductive. Washington andThe post Seatbelts for Speeders: Why Beijing Ignores Washington’s Red Phone appeared first on War on the Rocks.