(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-06 06:47

China and the United States are trying to institutionalize their military exchanges.

The ninth talks between Chinese and American vice-ministers of defense, which was convened in Washington on Monday have explored a wide range of areas including the hotline between the two countries' defense ministries, cooperation on military archives and exchanges between their young officers. They have hammered out a road map for what they are going to do next year.

The Chinese delegation spoke highly of the new developments from this round of the regular vice-defense-ministerial negotiations. While Chinese and American leaders exchange notes regularly, the two countries' military have begun to open up to each other, to some extent.

What the two sides are concerned about remains divided. Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff, explained to his American counterpart the Chinese government's vision to work for a peaceful reunification of the country.

This is one objective which China will never budge an inch from because it is a matter of considerable interest to the country.

In this spirit, Ma asked the American side to take concrete actions. The US should stop its official and military contacts with Taiwan, and arms sales to the island. The US should not send a wrong message to the Taiwan authorities given the complexity of the cross-Straits situation at this time.

US Deputy Secretary of Defense, Eric Edelman, who headed the American side, offered a clear answer. He confirmed that the US is committed to its one-China policy and the three joint communiques the two countries have issued. According to this American officer, the US does not stand behind the independence of Taiwan and the Taiwan authorities' attempts to initiate a referendum for United Nations membership.

Edelman's remarks are explicit to both sides of the Taiwan Straits. Whether his words are true depends on the measures the US takes.

US Department of Defense announced a plan to sell three sets of Patriot II anti-missile upgrade systems and affiliated equipment worth of $939 million to Taiwan.

Mixed signals from the US Department of Defense will only complicate the sensitive issue of Taiwan and will not be conducive to peace across the Taiwan Straits.

(China Daily 12/06/2007 page10)