U.S., China to Resume Military Relations

 

 By Linda D. Kozaryn
 
American Forces Press Service


 WASHINGTON -- U.S. and Chinese defense leaders agreed Jan. 
 26 to resume military-to-military relations.
 
 China severed relations with the United States last year 
 after a U.S. plane mistakenly bombed the Chinese embassy in 
 Belgrade, Yugoslavia, May 7 during NATO Operation Allied 
 Force. The accident killed three persons and injured 20. 
 
 After a meeting here with Chinese People's Liberation Army 
 Deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Xiong Guangkai, Defense 
 Secretary William S. Cohen announced he had accepted the 
 general's invitation to visit Beijing later this year. 
 
 Cohen, who last visited the People's Republic of China in 
 1998, termed his meeting with the Chinese military chief as 
 "very cordial." "I think that we are on track to getting 
 military-to-military relations back at a normal state of 
 affairs."
 
 DoD's steps toward restoring relations with China are part 
 of an overall administration effort. President Clinton 
 called on Congress to establish permanent normal trade 
 relations with China in his State of the Union address Jan. 
 27. U.S. markets are already open to China, he said, so 
 this would open China's markets to the United States. 
 
 Permanent normal trade relations would advance the cause of 
 peace in Asia and promote change in China, the president 
 said. "It lies not only in our economic interest to grant 
 China permanent normal trade relations status, … We must do 
 it to encourage China along the path of domestic reform, 
 human rights, the rule of law and international 
 cooperation," Clinton stated in a Jan. 24 letter to the 
 speaker of the House and the president of the Senate.
 
 U.S. and Chinese defense officials discussed a range of re-
 engagement issues here Jan. 25 and 26. Walter Slocombe, 
 undersecretary of defense for policy, and Xiong led the 
 talks. 
 
 "We agreed on a program to resume our military-to-military 
 relationship, with a schedule of events for the coming 
 year," Slocombe told reporters at the Pentagon Jan. 27. 
 Pending approval by both nation's capitals, the proposed 
 calendar will include high-level military and professional 
 visits, some confidence-building measures and participation 
 in multinational events. 
 
 One of the first contacts will be a visit to China in the 
 coming months by Adm. Dennis Blair, commander, U.S. Pacific 
 Command. U.S. and Chinese officials also plan to discuss 
 how the military can help respond to humanitarian and 
 natural disasters. 
 
 Officials also plan to resume discussions on military 
 maritime arrangements. Cohen signed an agreement Jan. 19, 
 1998, designed to prevent accidents and confrontations 
 between the U.S. and Chinese navies. Cohen later said the 
 pact strengthened U.S.-Chinese military ties and 
 established a mechanism for regular communication between 
 the two nations' militaries.
 
 Slocombe called the military-to-military ties part of a 
 balanced and deliberate program to reopen contact. "We 
 think it's appropriate to start gradually and make this a 
 very prudent and deliberate process," he said.
 
 Events also will be consistent with applicable legislation, 
 such as the fiscal 2000 defense authorization act signed by 
 Clinton in October, Slocombe noted. The act limits military 
 exchanges with China to prevent the Chinese from gathering 
 intelligence about defense technology. DoD officials 
 reviewed each potential military-to-military activity 
 against the standards of the statute, he said.
 
 During the talks, Slocombe said, U.S. and Chinese officials 
 also discussed global, regional, and bilateral issues, 
 including the U.S. Asian-Pacific strategy. He said he 
 stressed that the Asia-Pacific region is a critical U.S. 
 interest and that the U.S. military presence there is a 
 factor for regional security, essential to developing 
 democracy, economic prosperity and increased respect for 
 human rights. 
 
 "I made clear that we do not seek confrontation and we do 
 not follow a policy of containment or domination," Slocombe 
 said. "We have strong differences of view with the 
 government of China on some important issues, and we will 
 protect our interests, but we do not regard China as an 
 enemy."
 
 On Taiwan, Slocombe said, "We made it clear that we will 
 continue our sale of defensive arms to Taiwan so as to 
 provide, in the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act, a 
 sufficient defense capability." U.S. officials pointed out 
 it is in everybody's interest to avoid a build-up of 
 tensions during the election period in Taiwan and the 
 subsequent formation of a government, he said. 
 
 U.S. officials also pointed out that the United States is 
 developing a national missile defense system and has 
 initiated talks with Russia to modify the Anti-Ballistic 
 Missile Treaty. The Chinese voiced opposition to U.S. 
 national missile defense and indicated they would prefer to 
 see the ABM Treaty unchanged, he said.
 
 U.S. and Chinese officials share a strong common concern 
 that tensions on the Korean Peninsula should be reduced and 
 that North Korea should be nonnuclear. "The Chinese, in 
 general, believe that the danger from the North Korean 
 regime is less than we would characterize it as being, but 
 they agree with the basic objective," Slocombe said. 
 
 Slocombe described the talks as fairly intense and cordial, 
 despite real differences on some key issues. "I believe 
 that Gen. Xiong Guangkai … returns to China with a sense 
 that the United States is committed to engagement with 
 China and to cooperate where we have common approaches and 
 interests and to work through our differences to resolve 
 them where they exist."
 
 During his visit here, Xiong also met with Army Gen. Henry 
 Shelton, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Jim 
 Steinberg, deputy national security adviser; and State 
 Department officials, members of Congress and a number of 
 private groups.