China and US engage in joint navy exercises

[falcon]

China and US engage in joint navy exercises
Nov 19 4:04 PM US/Eastern

The navies of China and the United States have completed joint search and rescue exercises in the South China Sea that were aimed at building confidence between the two militaries, state press said.

The Chinese guided-missile destroyer "Zhanjiang" worked with the USS Juneau in the exercises designed to jointly locate a ship in danger and salvage it, Xinhua news agency reported Sunday.

The exercise was part of a plan by US President George W. Bush and his Chinese counterpart Hu Jintao to build up confidence between the two militaries, Chinese officials said earlier.

"In the exercises, the two navies demonstrated very good military skills and strong cooperative spirit," Xinhua quoted Gu Wengen, commander of China's South China Sea fleet, as saying.

The exercises were the second phase of the first-ever joint Sino-American search-and-rescue maneuvers that began in September in the waters off Hawaii.

"The exercise symbolizes more substantial cooperation between the armed forces of China and the United States, which is very important to the future development of bilateral military relations," said Qian Lihua, a senior Chinese military official dealing with foreign affairs.

US Commander of the Pacific Fleet Gary Roughead, who attended the exercises, said the maneuvers were crucial toward increasing transparency between the two sides, Xinhua added.

The exercises follow a Chinese rejection of US criticism over Beijing's rapid military expansion.

On the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in Hanoi, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday the Asian giant's military build-up "sometimes seemed outsized for China's regional role".

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao countered Saturday that her comments, given in an interview to cable television network CNBC Asia, had no basis in fact.

"I think that position on China is not well grounded because China's defense policy is a kind of policy which is aimed at national security and also safeguarding national sovereignty," Liu told reporters.

The Pentagon said last week a Chinese submarine came within several kilometers (miles) of a US aircraft carrier last month in international waters, near the Japanese island of Okinawa -- a claim denied by Beijing.

China and US military relations nose-dived after a 2001 collision between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet over the South China Sea and have only begun to recover in recent years.

www.breitbart.com/news/2006/11/19/061119210402.1ae0phc5.html

[Ryan Ruck]

China, US To Stage Joint Exercise

Adm. Gary Roughead was scheduled to meet with China's military officials during his stay and help plan a November 19 search-and-rescue exercise, the second half of a two-part operation that began in the United States.

"The thrust of our discussions will really be in how our navies can gain a better understanding of one another," said Roughead, who was visiting China the first time since taking the post.

He also told reporters he "really would like to know what the intent is in some of the developments" he's seen in the navy of the 2.3 million strong People's Liberation Army, the world's largest.

Those include an expanding submarine fleet and procurement of ships that can operate far beyond China's shores, he said.

"I look forward to having discussions on what the vision is and perhaps what some of the operating doctrine might be," Roughead said.

Visits between the Chinese and American militaries dropped off after the collision of a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet off China's coast in 2001.

Relations have been improving recently as US leaders cautiously seek to increase exchanges and better understand China's rapidly modernizing military.

The top US Pacific commander, Adm. William Fallon, has visited China three times since taking office about 18 months ago to boost contacts and reduce the potential for miscalculations.

In September, two Chinese navy ships stopped in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The visit by the Qingdao, a Luhu-class guided missile cruiser, and the Hongzehu, a refueling ship, for exercises, personnel exchanges, and touring was the first to a US state in six years.

After Pearl Harbor, the ships went to San Diego in southern California for the first part of the search-and-rescue exercise which will end this week in southern China.

The November 19 mission off the island province of Hainan is still being planned, Roughead said. It will involve 400 Navy personnel from the USS Juneau.