S. Korea, China set up hotlines between Navy and Air Force commands

SEOUL, Nov. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and China on Monday opened new military
hotlines between their Navy and Air Force command headquarters to help prevent
any conflicts arising from miscommunication or misunderstanding, the Defense
Ministry said.
"The hotlines officially opened today shortly after the two sides signed a
memorandum of understanding at 12:40 p.m.," Lt. Col. Moon Sam-heon, head of the
ministry's Northeast Asia policy division, said.
The document was signed at bilateral military talks held in Beijing. The sides
had been in talks for the establishment of military hotlines for over a year.
No serious clash has taken place between the countries' armed forces in recent
years, but the increasing number of Chinese fishing boats illegally operating in
Korea's exclusive waters is fast becoming a source of conflict between the
neighboring nations.
South Korea is currently the only nation to have military hotlines with China's
Navy and Air Force command headquarters, according to ministry officials.
The South Korean Air Force has operated a communications hotline with its
Japanese counterpart since 1997 while the Navy has a hotline with the Russian
Navy established in 2000, they said.
brk@yna.co.kr
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