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U.S. and Chinese military commanders hold rare phone call to avoid miscalculation
The head of all U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific spoke to a Chinese counterpart for the first time in years, according to a statement from the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.
The video call between the head of U.S. Indo-Pacific command Admiral Samuel Paparo and Gen. Wu Yanan, the commander of the People’s Liberation Army’s Southern Theater Command, on Monday was the first call between leaders in that position for several years.
Paparo, according to the readout, spoke of how the importance of communication “between senior leaders serve to clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation.”
Paparo only took over as commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in May 2024, but his predecessor Admiral John Aquilino has said he tried for three years to get a meeting with his counterpart so that the two militaries could work to avoid any miscalculations in the region.
Lisa Marie David / REUTERS
Military-to-military communications broke down significantly between the U.S. and China after Nancy Pelosi, then the House Speaker, visited to Taiwan in August 2022 and continued through the Chinese spy balloon incident in February 2023, when Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin tried to reach his Chinese counterpart over the phone but couldn’t get him on the line.
Resuming military to military communications was a key goal President Biden and President Xi Jinping agreed to work toward following their November 2023 summit in San Francisco.
Since then, Austin has spoken over the phone and met in person with his Chinese counterpart, and the top U.S. military officer Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown has spoken to his counterpart.
But the concern over miscalculation stems from activities in the Indo-Pacific. In the call Monday, according to the readout, Paparo said there should be more discussions in the future between the two leaders to “clarify intent and reduce the risk of misperception or miscalculation.”
He also called out the Chinese military for “several unsafe interactions with U.S. allies” and asked China to abide by international law and to reconsider its “dangerous, coercive, and potentially escalatory tactics in the South China Sea and beyond.”
There have recently been several instances between the Philippines and China in the South China sea when Chinese ships fired water cannons at Philippine vessels or collided with them.
The State Department said in a statement at the end of August that multiple times throughout the month, China has “aggressively disrupted lawful Philippine aerial and maritime operations in the South China Sea, including at Sabina Shoal.” The State Department said the U.S. “reiterates its call” for China to “comport its claims and actions with international law and to desist from dangerous and destabilizing conduct.”
Tupperware and some of its subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, the once-iconic food container maker said in a statement late Tuesday.
The company has suffered from dwindling sales following a surprise surge during the COVID-19 pandemic, when legions of people stuck at home tried their hands at cooking, which increased demand for Tupperware’s colorful plastic containers with flexible airtight seals.
A post-pandemic rise in costs of raw materials and shipping, along with higher wages, also hurt Tupperware’s bottom line.
Last year, it warned of “substantial doubt” about its ability to keep operating in light of its poor financial position.
“Over the last several years, the Company’s financial position has been severely impacted by the challenging macroeconomic environment,” president and CEO Laurie Ann Goldman said in a statement announcing the bankruptcy filing.
“As a result, we explored numerous strategic options and determined this is the best path forward,” Goldman said.
The company said it would seek court approval for a sale process for the business to protect its brand and “further advance Tupperware’s transformation into a digital-first, technology-led company.”
The Orlando, Florida-based firm said it would also seek approval to continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings and would continue to pay its employees and suppliers.
“We plan to continue serving our valued customers with the high-quality products they love and trust throughout this process,” Goldman said.
The firm’s shares were trading at $0.5099 Monday, well down from $2.55 in December last year.
Tupperware said it had implemented a strategic plan to modernize its operations and drive efficiencies to ignite growth following the appointment of a new management team last year.
“The Company has made significant progress and intends to continue this important transformation work.”
In its filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Tupperware listed assets of between $500 million and $1 billion and liabilities of between $1 billion and $10 billion.
The filing also said it had between 50,000 and 100,000 creditors.
Tupperware lost popularity with consumers in recent years and an initiative to gain distribution through big-box chain Target failed to reverse its fortunes.
The company’s roots date to 1946, when chemist Earl Tupper “had a spark of inspiration while creating molds at a plastics factory shortly after the Great Depression,” according to Tupperware’s website.
“If he could design an airtight seal for plastic storage containers, like those on a paint can, he could help war-weary families save money on costly food waste.”
Over time, Tupper’s containers became popular that many people referred to any plastic food container as Tupperware. And people even threw “Tupperware parties” in their homes to sell the containers to friends and neighbors.
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