China and US officials added to the recovering military ties
between the two countries Tuesday by opening a round of high-level
defense consultations.
Washington regards military ties with Beijing as a key part of
their relations. But contacts were cut off following the collision
of a US Navy surveillance plane with a Chinese fighter jet three
years ago, and are recuperating slowly.
Delegations to the consultations were led by Douglas Feith, a US
undersecretary of defense, and Xiong Guangkai, deputy chief of
general staff of the People's Liberation Army.
Xinhua News Agency announced the start of the talks, but the two
sides didn't immediately release any details of the agenda.
The meetings come three weeks after Gen. Richard Myers, chairman
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, became the highest-ranking US officer
to visit Beijing since 1997. Myers said the two sides were making
"good progress" in military relations.
The meeting Tuesday was the sixth installment in an annual
series first held in 1997 under an agreement signed by
then-Presidents Bill Clinton and Jiang Zemin. The last gathering
took place in Washington in December 2002.
Myers, while in Beijing, suggested joint search-and-rescue
exercises, educational exchanges and additional visits by warships
to ports in each country. A Chinese warship recently stopped in the
US territory of Guam.
Military relations soured following the collision of the US Navy
EP-3E plane and the Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea in
April 2001.
The Chinese pilot was never found and the American crew landed
on the Chinese island of Hainan. Military contacts were then broke
off between the two sides.
(China Daily February 10, 2004)