Posted on 06/22/2002 8:07:20 PM PDT by WakeUpChristian
Pentagon official to review military swaps in China
22 June, 2002
By Jim Wolf
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Pentagon official will hold talks in China next week aimed at boosting the military-to-military ties still not fully recovered from the collision of a U.S. surveillance plane and a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea, Pentagon officials said Friday.
Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defence for international security affairs, will push for "transparency and consistency and reciprocity" during his talks in Beijing, Rumsfeld told a briefing for foreign correspondents.
Pentagon officials said this means the United States wants more of a chance to observe Chinese forces in exchange for letting them watch U.S. forces up close.
The United States has curtailed military exchanges such as ship visits and invitations to observe war-games since a Navy EP-3 electronic surveillance aircraft collided with a Chinese interceptor off Hainan Island on April 1 of last year.
Pentagon officials have maintained that China, among other things, had not reciprocated invitations to observe drills by its fighting forces. "They see front-line combat troops doing actual combat drills," said one official. "When we go to China, we get shown 'show units'."
Rodman "will seek to get a Chinese commitment to fix the problem," the official said.
Rodman leaves Washington on Saturday and will consult in Japan on Monday and in South Korea on Tuesday en route to meeting senior Chinese defence ministry officials in Beijing on Wednesday, Navy Lieutenant Commander Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said.
Rodman will be following up discussions Rumsfeld held at the Pentagon on May 1 with visiting Chinese Vice President Hu Jintao.
If Washington is satisfied with any new Chinese commitments , the Pentagon is "amenable" to resuming a regular dialogue known as defence consultative talks at which a series of military-to-military exchanges had been agreed on in the past, Davis said.
The last such dialogue took place in November 2000 in Beijing under President Bill Clinton's administration.
Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last month that Rodman would push for more understanding on both sides about what was expected from military swaps.
"We think that contacts between our two militaries can contribute to reducing misunderstanding and building a more secure Asia in the future," he told a May 31 briefing for foreign correspondents. "So we would like to move forward."
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON (June 21, 2002 8:59 p.m. EDT) - A Pentagon official is expected to meet next week with Chinese defense officials in Beijing about renewing some military contacts between the United States and China, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Friday.
Peter Rodman, assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, will meet with Chinese officials Wednesday, Pentagon officials said. He will tell the Chinese that future military contacts must be more beneficial to the U.S. side, said Lt. Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
The U.S.-Chinese contacts were severely curtailed not long after a Chinese fighter collided with a U.S. spy plane off the coast of China on April 1, 2001. The Chinese fighter crashed into the sea, killing the pilot. The 24-member crew of the American plane - which made an emergency landing on the Chinese island of Hainan - was detained for 11 days before being released.
Afterward, the Bush administration announced it no longer saw the contacts - which include academic conferences and exchanges - as beneficial.
A possible outcome of Rodman's visit would be the restarting of regular talks that provide for formal planning of the military contacts, Davis said.
On another front, U.S. and Chinese delegations on Friday concluded two days of talks on terrorism in Asia.
They agreed that "very encouraging progress has been made in the fight against terrorism and recognized that much remains to be done," said Richard Boucher, the State Department spokesman.
The United States offered to provide China with security experts and other assistance in preparation for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Okay, let me get this straight. The Bush Administration has helped lobby the WTO for China's addmission, China downs one of our survelience planes in international airspace and now we have the Washington Time's reporting that China has aided the Taliban and Al Queda. Is this administration's foreign policy f####d up or what?
What ever happened to "if you're not with us, you're against us"? Everyone said it was such a great speech back in September. Too bad it was a bunch of hot air.
True,but Bubba-2 ain't really going to do anything that would hurt China. His uncle Prescott is in bed with the Chinese leaders,and wouldn't allow it.
His uncle Prescott is the head of the "Chinese/American Chamber of Commerce". You don't want the Bush family to lose money or political power,do you?
It's worse than that. Bubba-2 granted China PERMANENT "Most Favored Nation" trade status. Before,presidents only granted them temporary status,and this was used as a tool to help keep them in line. This is no longer possible,thanks to Bubba-2
What ever happened to "if you're not with us, you're against us"? Everyone said it was such a great speech back in September.
It doesn't apply when it might cut into the Bush family profits or influence.
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