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| U.S. Army to Increase Ties With China’s Military, General Says | U.S. Army to Increase Ties With China’s Military, General Says |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| BEIJING — A top United States military commander said Saturday that the U.S. Army is working on starting a formal dialogue and exchange program with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army before the end of the year. | BEIJING — A top United States military commander said Saturday that the U.S. Army is working on starting a formal dialogue and exchange program with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army before the end of the year. |
| The commander, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the U.S. Army chief of staff, told reporters at a news conference in Beijing that the program was aimed at expanding cooperation and “managing differences constructively.” | The commander, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, the U.S. Army chief of staff, told reporters at a news conference in Beijing that the program was aimed at expanding cooperation and “managing differences constructively.” |
| “It really is about us focusing on a long-term relationship and the importance of us conducting exchanges, conducting institutional visits,” he said. | “It really is about us focusing on a long-term relationship and the importance of us conducting exchanges, conducting institutional visits,” he said. |
| General Odierno made his remarks on Saturday morning at the United States Embassy, during the second day of a visit to China. The general met with Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Friday and was scheduled to travel to visit the Shenyang military command in northeast China on Saturday afternoon. | General Odierno made his remarks on Saturday morning at the United States Embassy, during the second day of a visit to China. The general met with Chinese counterparts in Beijing on Friday and was scheduled to travel to visit the Shenyang military command in northeast China on Saturday afternoon. |
| The general said the formal dialogue between U.S. and Chinese army officials would include discussions of humanitarian relief, disaster management and peacekeeping operations. The two armies could have exchanges at institutional levels like that of training and doctrine commands, General Odierno said. | The general said the formal dialogue between U.S. and Chinese army officials would include discussions of humanitarian relief, disaster management and peacekeeping operations. The two armies could have exchanges at institutional levels like that of training and doctrine commands, General Odierno said. |
| A date for the first formal meeting in the program has not been set, but the general said some military officials who had come to China with him would stay there to work on details. General Odierno said he hoped a date would be finalized during an expected visit to China in April by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. | A date for the first formal meeting in the program has not been set, but the general said some military officials who had come to China with him would stay there to work on details. General Odierno said he hoped a date would be finalized during an expected visit to China in April by U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. |
| The general said his visit was focused solely on laying the groundwork for senior-level exchanges between the two armies, and he assumed other branches of the U.S. military would try to build similar programs with their Chinese counterparts. | The general said his visit was focused solely on laying the groundwork for senior-level exchanges between the two armies, and he assumed other branches of the U.S. military would try to build similar programs with their Chinese counterparts. |
| In recent years, American officials have said that ties between the U.S. and Chinese militaries are weak and far below the level of similar ties between the U.S. and the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War. This has led to growing anxieties among U.S. military leaders. | |
| Tensions among nations with a military presence in the Western Pacific have been on the rise in recent years. The U.S. is still the dominant military power in the region, and will be so for years to come, but China is rapidly building up its armed forces. Chinese officials and those of other Asian nations regularly trade sharp words over territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea. | Tensions among nations with a military presence in the Western Pacific have been on the rise in recent years. The U.S. is still the dominant military power in the region, and will be so for years to come, but China is rapidly building up its armed forces. Chinese officials and those of other Asian nations regularly trade sharp words over territorial disputes in the East China Sea and South China Sea. |
| The U.S. has said it does not take sides in the disputes, but wants to maintain freedom of navigation in the region and, more recently, has insisted that China clarify or adjust its claims in the South China Sea to ensure they are consistent with international law. | The U.S. has said it does not take sides in the disputes, but wants to maintain freedom of navigation in the region and, more recently, has insisted that China clarify or adjust its claims in the South China Sea to ensure they are consistent with international law. |
| American officials have said the territorial claims must be based on land features, an assertion that negates an expansive map often called the “nine dashes” or “cow’s tongue” that the Kuomintang government of China created in the early 20th century to demarcate Chinese sovereignty in the South China Sea. Some Chinese officials in the Communist-run government continue to use that map to delineate China’s current claims. | American officials have said the territorial claims must be based on land features, an assertion that negates an expansive map often called the “nine dashes” or “cow’s tongue” that the Kuomintang government of China created in the early 20th century to demarcate Chinese sovereignty in the South China Sea. Some Chinese officials in the Communist-run government continue to use that map to delineate China’s current claims. |
| Vietnam and the Philippines have been the most vocal opponents of Chinese claims in the South China Sea. Last month, Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that a three-ship flotilla from China performed an oath-taking ceremony on Jan. 26 by Zengmu Reef, a feature at the southernmost tip of the territory bounded by the nine dashes on the Republican-era map. Malaysia and some other nations call the feature James Shoal, and a Malaysian admiral said that, contrary to the Xinhua report, Chinese ships did not patrol in that area, which falls in what Malaysia calls its exclusive economic zone. | Vietnam and the Philippines have been the most vocal opponents of Chinese claims in the South China Sea. Last month, Xinhua, the state news agency, reported that a three-ship flotilla from China performed an oath-taking ceremony on Jan. 26 by Zengmu Reef, a feature at the southernmost tip of the territory bounded by the nine dashes on the Republican-era map. Malaysia and some other nations call the feature James Shoal, and a Malaysian admiral said that, contrary to the Xinhua report, Chinese ships did not patrol in that area, which falls in what Malaysia calls its exclusive economic zone. |
| American officials have raised concerns over a maritime encounter in December in which a Chinese vessel came within 100 meters of the U.S.S. Cowpens, a Navy cruiser, in the South China Sea. | American officials have raised concerns over a maritime encounter in December in which a Chinese vessel came within 100 meters of the U.S.S. Cowpens, a Navy cruiser, in the South China Sea. |
| To the north, China and Japan are engaged in a diplomatic struggle over the status of a group of islands in the East China Sea that are known to the Japanese as the Senkakus and to the Chinese as the Diaoyu. Japan is the closest military ally of the U.S. in the Western Pacific. Last week, Capt. James Fanell, director of intelligence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said that the goal of war games held by China last year was to train for seizing the islands, which are uninhabited but are administered by Japan, though U.S. defense officials later played down those remarks. | To the north, China and Japan are engaged in a diplomatic struggle over the status of a group of islands in the East China Sea that are known to the Japanese as the Senkakus and to the Chinese as the Diaoyu. Japan is the closest military ally of the U.S. in the Western Pacific. Last week, Capt. James Fanell, director of intelligence of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, said that the goal of war games held by China last year was to train for seizing the islands, which are uninhabited but are administered by Japan, though U.S. defense officials later played down those remarks. |
| China alarmed Japan, South Korea and the U.S. in late 2013 when it declared an Air Defense Identification Zone, or ADIZ, over a significant part of the East China Sea, requiring all aircraft entering the zone to provide identification and flight plans. American officials have continued to order U.S. military aircraft to fly through the area without acknowledging China’s new designation. Some officials are asking when China might establish a similar air zone in the South China Sea. | |
| General Odierno said Saturday that a formal high-level army-to-army exchange would be helpful because “throughout history, miscalculation is what has caused conflict.” | General Odierno said Saturday that a formal high-level army-to-army exchange would be helpful because “throughout history, miscalculation is what has caused conflict.” |
| On Friday, any tensions simmering beneath the surface of U.S.-China military relations were subsumed by a day of pomp, giddy meet-and-greets and effusive mutual praise from General Odierno and the Chinese counterparts he met in the capital. The day began with the pageantry of a troop review and full military honors at China’s Defense Ministry headquarters, and General Odierno later attended a closed-door meeting with students and scholars at Peking University. The general told reporters Saturday that he had spoken to 30 to 40 students there. | On Friday, any tensions simmering beneath the surface of U.S.-China military relations were subsumed by a day of pomp, giddy meet-and-greets and effusive mutual praise from General Odierno and the Chinese counterparts he met in the capital. The day began with the pageantry of a troop review and full military honors at China’s Defense Ministry headquarters, and General Odierno later attended a closed-door meeting with students and scholars at Peking University. The general told reporters Saturday that he had spoken to 30 to 40 students there. |
| Among the military leaders he met Friday were General Fang Fenghui, chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army; General Wang Ning, the army’s deputy chief staff and General Fan Changlong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the armed forces. | Among the military leaders he met Friday were General Fang Fenghui, chief of the general staff of the People’s Liberation Army; General Wang Ning, the army’s deputy chief staff and General Fan Changlong, a vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission, which oversees the armed forces. |
| Neither the Chinese nor American officials took questions from reporters on Friday, but they allowed journalists a peek into the tightly scripted exchanges, which, in the indoor sessions, involved the two sides facing one another at long tables inside the hulking headquarters of the Chinese Defense Ministry in western Beijing. | Neither the Chinese nor American officials took questions from reporters on Friday, but they allowed journalists a peek into the tightly scripted exchanges, which, in the indoor sessions, involved the two sides facing one another at long tables inside the hulking headquarters of the Chinese Defense Ministry in western Beijing. |
| After reviewing Chinese troops, General Odierno described them as “incredibly professional” and “wonderful.” Later, during his meeting with General Fang, he said, “It’s been very encouraging and made very clear to me the importance that you place on collaboration and cooperation. And I think that is the key.” | After reviewing Chinese troops, General Odierno described them as “incredibly professional” and “wonderful.” Later, during his meeting with General Fang, he said, “It’s been very encouraging and made very clear to me the importance that you place on collaboration and cooperation. And I think that is the key.” |
| At another point, General Fan, the officer on the military commission, cited joint peacekeeping missions and “education” as goals for the two armies and, like General Odierno, referred to meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Obama last year as having set a foundation for exchanges between the two military forces. | At another point, General Fan, the officer on the military commission, cited joint peacekeeping missions and “education” as goals for the two armies and, like General Odierno, referred to meetings between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Obama last year as having set a foundation for exchanges between the two military forces. |
| “We have had substantive discussions on how we will bring forward our military-to-military relationships,” General Fan said. “And as I said earlier, following the example that was set by President Xi and President Obama in their discussions and the importance of increasing the dialogue between our nations, I think it’s important that the military-to-military dialogue takes a positive step forward.” | “We have had substantive discussions on how we will bring forward our military-to-military relationships,” General Fan said. “And as I said earlier, following the example that was set by President Xi and President Obama in their discussions and the importance of increasing the dialogue between our nations, I think it’s important that the military-to-military dialogue takes a positive step forward.” |