Department of Defense, "Memorandum of Understanding Regarding the Rules of Behavior for Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters," November 10, 2014

The Department of Defense of the United States of America and the Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter the Sides):

Honor the June 2013 discussion between President Barack Obama of the United States of America and President Xi Jinping of the People’s Republic of China about the importance of rules of behavior for safety of encounters between naval vessels and military aircraft of the two Sides;

Recognize that the People’s Republic of China is a Party to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and that the United States supports and observes customary international law as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea;

Recognize that the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China are Parties to the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, and the Collision Regulations (COLREGs) contained therein, which apply to all vessels flagged by both Sides, including naval ships, in order to “maintain a high level of safety at sea”;

Recognize that the United States of America and the People’s Republic of China are Parties to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (“Chicago Convention”);

Recognize that both Sides concluded the Agreement on Establishing a Consultation Mechanism to Strengthen Military Maritime Safety (MMCA), which endorsed “the need to promote common understandings regarding activities undertaken by their respective maritime and air forces when operating in accordance with international law, including the principles and regimes reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea”; and

Recognize as members of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), that both the United States Navy and the People’s Liberation Army Navy contributed to the development and adoption of the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) in order to maximize safety at sea.

For details of the Memorandum, please see attached document.