China Says It Can’t Be Contained by(sic) as Hagel Seeks Cooperation
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urged deeper military ties with China even as his counterpart in Beijing insisted the U.S. rebalancing to Asia wouldn’t contain China or affect its claims to territory in the region.
Hagel met yesterday in Beijing with Defense Minister General Chang Wanquan, who pledged further collaboration, while saying China wouldn’t bend on territorial disputes with key U.S. allies that have flamed tensions in the region. The two agreed to step up joint military exercises, to improve communication about drills to avoid accidents and to hold more contacts between their armies.
Hagel, on his first trip to China as defense secretary, visits a People’s Liberation Army academy today before meeting with President Xi Jinping.
The U.S. seeks military ties with China “to deepen practical cooperation in areas of common interest, and to manage competition and differences through openness and communication,” Hagel said a briefing yesterday in Beijing. This year China will for the first time join the U.S. in the Rim of the Pacific exercise, the Pacific Ocean military simulation held every other year.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2014-04-08/china-says-it-can-t-be-contained-as-hagel-seeks-more-cooperation
