At the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union and the US had a direct telephone link, known as the hot phone, for fast communication in a crisis and to prevent an accidental war.
China and the US are now looking to do the same.
US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman General Peter Pace is having talks with his Chinese counterparts in Beijing.
"It's simply but very importantly one more way to ensure that if there's miscalculation at war, if there's misunderstanding, that you can pick up the phone quickly and make a phone call," he said.
General Pace says China and the US both have great military capacity, so they need to be able to know quickly what each other's genuine intentions are. SOURCE: © 2007 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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