U.S., China to resume military talks

US puts no timeline on Japan base resolution
Washington (AFP) Sept 16, 2010 - The United States said Thursday it was making progress with Japan in resolving a row over a military base but played down the likelihood of reaching a quick solution. Kurt Campbell, the assistant secretary of state for East Asian affairs, praised Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who survived a leadership challenge Tuesday, for backing an agreement between the two nations on the Futenma Marine base. "We've made a lot of progress in the course of the last several months," Campbell told a forum at the US Institute of Peace. But noting that he served at the Pentagon when Futenma relocation discussions began in the mid-1990s, Campbell said: "I think I've learned during the intervening periods not to hold my breath."

"This is going to be an ongoing issue. We have a long-term commitment to making sure that we are a good neighbor in Japan," Campbell said. In 2006, the United States and Japan agreed to shift the facilities of Futenma -- a longtime source of local grievance as it lies in a busy area of Okinawa -- to a more quiet part of the subtropical island. But the center-left Democratic Party of Japan pledged to take a new look at the deal last year when it won a landmark election victory that ended decades of nearly unbroken rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. Campbell said that the United States "has a very strong commitment to do what we can to ease the burden on the people of Okinawa."

"But also, we have a dual responsibility to maintain a very strong deterrent and military capability in the Asia-Pacific region," he said. The United States stations nearly 50,000 troops in Japan under a post-World War II treaty. In line with recent statements by US officials, Campbell tried to play down the Futenma issue, criticizing the media focus on the disagreement. He hailed Japan, under the Democratic Party, for its contributions on a range of other issues including rebuilding Afghanistan, fighting climate change and pressuring Iran over its suspicious nuclear program. "I think unfortunately a story that has largely been missed is how closely we've worked together during an undeniable seismic change in Japanese politics," Campbell said.

by Staff Writers
Beijing (UPI) Sep 16, 2010
After months of strained relations, U.S. Defense Department officials say they have received encouraging signs in Chinese designs to renew military-to-military relations with the United States ahead of talks between the two countries' presidents early next year.

The changing course of relations was revealed after talks between Xu Caihou, vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, and U.S. deputy national security adviser Thomas E. Donilon.

At the end of a three-day visit to Beijing during which both sides seemed to go out of their way to appear cordial in public, officials expressed their desire to keep dialogue open and improve exchanges with the U.S. military.

Soon after the meeting, National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said in a statement, "The United States seeks to expand cooperation in the many areas where our countries' interests coincide while we will speak frankly and with respect when we disagree."

No details of the talks were released from either side, still Hong Kong's South China Morning Post said that officials had "finalized an agreement to work toward restoring military exchanges ahead of a planned visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Washington in January."

China halted its military-to-military relations with the United States in February in protest of a U.S. arms shipment to Taiwan.

China has been pressing the United States to honor its commitments and stop selling arms to Taiwan. Even senior U.S. congressmen have grown worried, saying U.S. arms sales to Taipei could imperil relations with China.

Taiwan requested purchase of 66 F-6 fighters in early 2007. Washington, though, has held up the deal, apparently heeding concerns from Beijing. Yet when the United States sanctioned a $6.4 billion arms deal with Taiwan last January, China retaliated by suspending military talks with the United States and repositioning cruise and ballistic missiles opposite Taiwan.

The arms deal includes Black Hawk helicopters, mine hunter ships and advanced Patriot missiles, built by Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.

U.S. officials have long indicated that the deal would be followed by plans to gauge the design and construction of diesel-powered submarines for the island, which China deems a wayward province.

At a news conference, the visiting U.S. official said that Defense Secretary Robert Gates would meet with his Chinese counterpart if invited. Still, the Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell clarified that such a meeting wouldn't mark "engagement for the sake of engagement."

"We are not just looking for a reciprocal visit by Secretary Gates," he added. "What we are looking for is a resumption of productive, transparent, military-to-military engagement so that we can both gain a better understanding of what our ambitions are, what our intentions are how we operate."

Washington is required under the Taiwan Relations Act to ensure that Taiwan can defend itself. The United States remains the island's top arms supplier.

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