STOCKHOLM – United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday called on Beijing to agree to greater communication after a fighter jet incident last week he blamed on a Chinese pilot.

The US military said a Chinese fighter pilot flew aggressively last week near an American surveillance aircraft over the South China Sea, with Beijing blaming US “provocation” for the episode.

The Pentagon also said China’s Defence Minister Li Shangfu declined talks with US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin when the two are in Singapore this week for the annual Shangri-La Dialogue.

Mr Blinken said US planes were “flying in international airspace on a routine mission”.

“There have been a series of these actions directed not just at us but at other countries in recent months,” he told reporters on a visit to Sweden.

“I think it only underscores why it is so important that we have regular, open lines of communication, including, by the way, between our defence ministers,” Mr Blinken said.

“The most dangerous thing is not to communicate and, as a result, to have a misunderstanding and miscommunication,” he said.

“And as we said repeatedly, while we have a real competition with China, we also want to make sure that doesn’t veer into conflict and the most important starting point for that are regular lines of communication.”

Mr Blinken cancelled a trip to Beijing in February after the US said it spotted a surveillance balloon from China over the US mainland. AFP