U.S., China Officials Focus on Military-to-Military Relations

Washington – U.S. and Chinese defense officials recently discussed how to develop more durable military-to-military relations, a senior U.S. defense official says.

Under Secretary of Defense Michèle Flournoy met with Chinese General Ma Xiaotian, the deputy chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army, in Washington and discussed a range of security issues including North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, maritime security, and Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

“I won’t say that we agreed on every issue. Where we did differ, we had a very candid and frank and productive exchange of views,” Flournoy told reporters December 10 at a Pentagon press briefing. “These kinds of talks, I believe, contribute to improving the basis for a more cooperative relationship between our two countries and our two militaries over time.”

Improving U.S.-China military relations has been a significant concern of the Obama administration since earlier this year; Defense Secretary Robert Gates has repeatedly called for a resumption of consultations and visits. Gates travels to China January 10-14, 2011, at China’s invitation, to begin talks and prepare for Chinese President Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington later in January.

Flournoy said her meeting with Ma is expected to help contribute to setting a positive tone and creating success in both of the upcoming meetings.

Flournoy and Ma also exchanged views on the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review  which defines how and when the United States will employ nuclear weapons in its own defense, and the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense Review. “We discussed the importance of China continuing to make progress in improving its openness and transparency in defense matters,” Flournoy said.

China serves as chairman of the Six-Party Talks that work to convince North Korea to forego a nuclear weapons development program and efforts to build long-range ballistic missiles. China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Russia and the United States comprise the Six-Party Talks.

China has also participated in the six-nation talks to convince Iran to forego its nuclear ambitions. China along with Britain, France, Germany, Russia and the United States is engaged in talks with Iranian officials.

Short URL: http://theasiantimes.com/?p=595

Posted by admin on Dec 15 2010. Filed under Americas, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry