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.”
BACK IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD: The planned transit by the ‘Baden-Wuerttemberg’ and the ‘Frankfurt am Main’ would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002 Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday. Reuters last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing. Der Spiegel cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal. The German Federal Ministry of Defense declined to comment. While
‘REGRETTABLE’: TPP lawmaker Vivian Huang said that ‘we will continue to support Chairman Ko and defend his innocence’ as he was transferred to a detention facility The Taipei District Court yesterday ruled that Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) be detained and held incommunicado over alleged corruption dating to his time as mayor of Taipei. The ruling reversed a decision by the court on Monday morning that Ko be released without bail. After prosecutors on Wednesday appealed the Monday decision, the High Court said that Ko had potentially been “actively involved” in the alleged corruption and ordered the district court to hold a second detention hearing. Ko did not speak to reporters upon his arrival at the district court at about 9:10am yesterday to attend a procedural
‘UPHOLDING PEACE’: Taiwan’s foreign minister thanked the US Congress for using a ‘creative and effective way’ to deter Chinese military aggression toward the nation The US House of Representatives on Monday passed the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, aimed at deterring Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by threatening to publish information about Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials’ “illicit” financial assets if Beijing were to attack. The act would also “restrict financial services for certain immediate family of such officials,” the text of the legislation says. The bill was introduced in January last year by US representatives French Hill and Brad Sherman. After remarks from several members, it passed unanimously. “If China chooses to attack the free people of Taiwan, [the bill] requires the Treasury secretary to publish the illicit
The Executive Yuan yesterday warned against traveling to or doing business in China after reports that Beijing is recruiting Taiwanese to help conceal the use of forced Uighur labor. The government is aware that Taiwan-based influencers and businesses are being asked to make pro-Beijing content and offered incentives to invest in the region, Executive Yuan acting spokeswoman Julia Hsieh (謝子涵) told a news conference. Taiwanese are urged to be aware of the potential personal and reputational harm by visiting or operating businesses in China, Hsieh said, adding that agencies are fully apprised of the situation. A national security official said that former Mainland
RSS