Chinese and U.S. militaries met in Hawaii from April 3 to 4 to discuss the current maritime and air security situation between the two countries, China's Defense Ministry said on Saturday.

The China-U.S. Military Maritime Consultative Agreement (MMCA) Working Group meeting aims to implement the important consensus of the two heads of state and promote the healthy, stable, and sustainable development of relations between the two militaries, said the ministry.

The meeting in Hawaii was the first in-person gathering of its kind in years, as the last MMCA event in December 2021 was held virtually.

During the Hawaii meeting, the two sides assessed the implementation of the China-U.S. Rules of Behavior for the Safety of Air and Maritime Encounters since the MMCA meeting in 2021 and discussed measures to improve maritime military security between the two countries, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

The Chinese side informed the U.S. during the meeting that it firmly opposes any action that jeopardizes China's sovereignty and security in the name of freedom of navigation and overflight and will continue to respond to all dangerous and provocative actions in accordance with the law, according to the ministry.

(Cover: An aircraft of the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy. /Chinese Defense Ministry)