The US and Chinese defense chiefs took a step yesterday toward mending frayed relations between their powerful militaries, though China warned ties could be cut again if Washington does not heed Beijing’s wishes.
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Chinese Minister of National Defense Liang Guanglie (梁光烈), after a morning of talks, agreed to set up a working group to explore a more formal, regular dialogue on strategic issues.
The agreement, along with Gates’ visit, marks the symbolic end to a rocky year in which Beijing cut off defense ties with the US over arms sales to Taiwan and objected to US naval maneuvers in the Yellow Sea.
Gates also invited the chief of the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) general staff to visit Washington in the first half of this year.
“I come away from these meetings convinced that the PLA leadership is as committed to fulfilling the mandate of our two presidents as I am,” Gates said at a news briefing.
However, the step forward on talks falls short of insulating the militaries’ ties from further ruptures. Liang, who is a PLA general, refused to guarantee that Beijing would refrain from suspending military ties in the future, especially if there are future arms sales to Taiwan.
Such arms sales “severely damage China’s core interests,” Liang told reporters after the talks.
The US, he said, needs to pay more attention to China’s desires.
Gates’ four-day trip to Beijing comes a week before Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) goes to Washington, and both governments are trying to smooth over substantial friction over trade, North Korea’s and Iran’s nuclear programs and China’s generally more assertive diplomatic posture.
A rapid build-up of the Chinese military has fueled perceptions of aggression, unnerved China’s neighbors and caused Washington to insist Beijing more clearly explain its intentions.
China has made strides in building a new stealth fighter jet and Washington is also concerned about a new ballistic missile that could theoretically destroy a US aircraft carrier nearly 3,200km out to sea. China has also apparently beaten US estimates to develop that weapon.
Gates told reporters traveling with him to Asia on Sunday that China had the potential to “put some of our capabilities at risk.”
“We have to pay attention to them. We have to respond appropriately with our own programs,” Gates said.
At their news conference yesterday, Gates and Liang denied their governments are entering an arms race.
Liang, dressed in his military uniform, animatedly defended China’s growing capabilities, calling them “entirely appropriate and consistent with China’s rise as an economic and political power.”
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