There is “no other alternative” for the US and China but to boost military-to-military relations to manage disputes, US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said yesterday.
A robust security dialogue between the two powers is key to the prosperity of the Asia-Pacific region, Panetta told delegates to the Shangri-La Dialogue.
“Our relationship with China — we approach it in a very clear-eyed way. We are not naive about the relationship and neither is China,” he said in response to a question after a speech.
Photo: Reuters
“We both understand the differences we have, we both understand the conflicts we have, but we also both understand that there really is no other alternative but for both of us to engage and to improve our communications, and to improve our military-to-military relationship,” Panetta said.
Panetta said there would be “ups and downs” along the way, but it was vital to keep the lines of communication open.
“It’s to build that kind of relationship recognizing that we are going to have disputes ... that we are going to have conflicts, but also recognizing that it is in the interest of both China and the United States to resolve these issues in a peaceful way,” he said.
“That’s the only key to advancing their prosperity and to advancing our prosperity,” he added.
Before arriving in Singapore on Friday, Panetta told reporters aboard his plane that he had come away encouraged about the state of the US-China security dialogue after recent talks with his Chinese counterpart and other officials in Washington.
He said both powers must go beyond the mutual distrust that often characterized relations in the past.
“I think what both of us have to recognize is that we are powers in this region. We have common interests in this region, we have common obligations to try to promote peace and prosperity and security in this region,” he said at the Singapore summit.
In laying out core US principles in the region, Panetta made clear that Washington opposed any attempt by Beijing to make unilateral moves in its push for territorial rights in the oil-rich South China Sea.
Disputes had to be resolved through agreed-upon rules among all countries and based on international law, he said.
He also alluded to US concerns over China’s alleged cyber intrusions and spying, saying that in talks with Beijing the two sides had “agreed on the need to address responsible behavior in cyberspace and in outer space.”
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS