China to increase military contacts to avoid missteps

Panetta, on his first day at China as defense secretary, acknowledged differences relating to the two countries over maritime safety in East Asia, but said better ties would "advance peace and stability and prosperity inside entire Asia-Pacific region. "

Panetta and Chinese Defence Minister Liang Guanglie said they candid discussions on the difficult issues confronting the two countries, including U. S. hands sales to Taiwan, the adjust in U. S. strategic focus towards Asia-Pacific, cybersecurity and the territorial contest between Beijing and Tokyo.

Panetta's day at Beijing for talks with elderly Chinese military and government leaders has coincided with an eruption in tension over rival claims by Japan and China into a cluster of islands in your East China Sea.

Anti-Japan protests have got flared across China in latest days, including attacks on Japan cars and restaurants.

"With admiration to these current tensions, we are urging calm as well as restraint by all sides and cause them to become maintain open channels of communication in order to resolve these disputes diplomatically as well as peacefully, " Panetta said.

Liang said China's claim towards islands, known in China because Diaoyu and in Japan because Senkaku, dated back to your Ming dynasty. He blamed japan government's purchase of the islands at a private Japanese owner last week for the reason that source of the current clash.

But Liang said China wished for a peaceful settlement of your dispute.

"We reserve rights with regard to further actions, " he informed a news conference. "Of course, that being said we still a cure for a peaceful and negotiated means to fix this issue. "

Panetta's three-day visit to China is component of an effort to bolster military-to-military ties relating to the two countries and avoid the kind of on-again, off-again relationship they have had before. The two resumed contacts lower than two years ago after a breakdown in ties over U. Azines. arms sales to Taiwan.

Panetta may meet Vice President Xi Jinping, that's expected to assume the presidency next year, and will go to the Chinese naval base that serves as headquarters from the North Sea fleet.

U. Azines. defence officials say they imagine deeper military relations with Beijing will help avoid friction and misunderstanding as China partcipates in a major effort to modernize its military as well as the two services come into raising contact.

Pentagon officials have long complained that China will never be candid enough about its swift military build-up, whereas Chinese administrators have accused Washington of looking at their country in suspicious, "Cold War" terminology.

"Our goal is to have the usa and China establish the most important bilateral relationship in the world, and the key to that may be to establish a strong military-to-military partnership, " Panetta said in remarks into a meeting of the two protection staffs.

"The key is to possess senior level actions like we have been engaging in that reduce the risk of miscalculation, that foster greater understanding and this expand trust between our a pair of countries, " he added.

Panetta said that in order to further build ties, the United states of america had invited a Chinese warship to engage in the 2014 Rim of your Pacific exercises, a U. Azines. -sponsored large-scale naval exercise involving greater than 20 countries.

Liang said the two also discussed U. S. hands sales to Taiwan, the adjust in U. S. strategic focus towards Asia-Pacific, territorial issues in your South China Sea, cybersecurity and outer space.

"Better communications on the aforementioned topics are very helpful, useful, for mutual perception of our respective positions and stances, inches Liang told reporters. "It will help reduce suspicions (and) assemble trust. ".

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