The commander of US forces in the Pacific is in China for a seven-day visit
aimed at improving military ties between the two countries, the US embassy
said.
The commander of U.S. Pacific Command Admiral
William Fallon (L) listens as Chinese Defence Minister General Cao
Gangchuan speaks during a meeting at the Chinese Ministry of Defence in
Beijing May 10, 2006. [Reuters] |
Admiral William Fallon will meet with Chinese military officials in Beijing
before visiting the northern city of Xian, eastern Hangzhou and Shenyang in the
northeast, a US embassy spokeswoman said.
"This is a follow-on to continue with improved military-to-military
relations," the spokeswoman told AFP.
Fallon will meet with provincial and defense officials during his tour,
before leaving China, she said.
In March, Fallon called for increased military engagement with China, despite
US concerns over Beijing's continuing increases in military spending.
"The absence of any engagement whatsoever would put us back where we were in
the past couple of years where we have virtually gone on a parallel pass with no
interaction," he said.
China announced in March its military budget would increase by 15 percent
this year to 35 billion dollars.
Fallon said at the time that US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had agreed
to a significant increase in US-Chinese military interchanges this year.
But the interaction comes as the United States has also shown increasing
signs of concern about China's military build-up.
The United States is shifting its military might to the Asia-Pacific region
and equipping its forces for high-tech warfare as a hedge against China's
military buildup, the Pentagon said last month.
"It is US policy to encourage China to emerge as a responsible international
partner," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.
The United States has been modernizing and reorienting its military forces in
recent years, shifting its weight from Europe to the Asia-Pacific region and
south Asia.
It has revamped its military alliance with Japan, and moved to strengthen
military ties with India and countries in southeast and central
Asia.