US, Australia woo China with joint military exercises

Koji

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Military chiefs woo China
JONATHAN PEARLMAN
September 3, 2009



THE US and Australia will invite China to join unprecedented three-nation military exercises to try to allay concerns about Beijing's military ambitions and pave the way to strengthen diplomatic ties.

The head of the US Pacific Command, Timothy Keating, and the chief of the Australian Defence Force, Angus Houston, met in Sydney this week and agreed to separately approach China's Ministry of National Defence to hold exercises and develop military relations ''at the earliest opportunity''.

Admiral Keating, who heads the largest of America's global commands, said the US - like Australia - was concerned that China's military build-up appeared to extend beyond purely defensive purposes.

''We are anxious to engage with them,'' he told The Age yesterday. ''We want to understand much better than we do now China's intentions … China does publish a [defence] white paper but we find it to be less than fulfilling … We would say, don't stand in isolation in the Asia Pacific.''

He said the exercises would start with small-scale naval and land activities, followed by personnel exchanges, and would mark a breakthrough for improving ties with China.

Asked if strengthening military ties would upset regional powers such as India, Japan and South Korea, Admiral Keating said: ''We can control the rheostat on this and invite nations to observe and participate. It is a fairly simple thing to do.''

A Defence spokeswoman said Australia had begun pursuing military-to-military ties with China in recent years and such exercises were crucial to developing ''understanding about our respective defence capabilities and intentions''.

The Rudd Government's 20-year defence blueprint, released this year, said China ''needs to do more'' to reassure the region that its military build-up did not pose a threat.

''[We] place a high priority on engaging China on matters of shared security interest,'' the spokeswoman said. ''Our ability to speak frankly on issues such as China's military modernisation is an indication of the growing maturity of our relationship.''

The Chinese embassy in Canberra said it was not authorised to comment on the proposed exercises and referred inquiries to Beijing.

Admiral Keating said Australia could play a ''pivotal role'' in encouraging greater Chinese openness and strengthening ties between Beijing and Washington. Australia and China held naval search-and-rescue exercises in 2007, along with New Zealand. But military relations between China and the US have been strained and only resumed last week after Beijing broke off talks following the Bush administration's arms sales to Taiwan.

''Australia is very prominent on the list of folks with whom we engage - and with whom we hope China will engage,'' Admiral Keating said.

''The People's Liberation Army has not participated in the exercises which we have described. We would be concerned if China spurned any or all offers for increased quality and quantity of engagement … If Angus can obtain Chinese agreement to participate, we would be delighted to join in. I'm sure the same would be true for Angus if we could get the Chinese to participate.''

Admiral Keating said China's arrest of Rio Tinto executive Stern Hu, and Beijing's response to the visit to Australia of Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, were ''unfortunate'' and highlighted the need to improve military and diplomatic ties.

''We can help one another to get things we need for energy, environment and overall stability and economic prosperity. By far the best way we know is by co-operating and collaborating on a military-to-military basis to serve as a foundation to further the cause of stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

''We would propose, at a pace that suits China, Australia and the US - it may be a little pedestrian in the early days, months, years - small-scale exercises that would focus on humanitarian assistance or disaster relief.''

Military chiefs woo China
 

Koji

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This was the same US Admiral that encouraged a Chinese naval presence in the Indian ocean, and regarding PM Rudd...well, you guys know all about Rudd and his soft heart for the Chinese.
 

Koji

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The possibility of a radical shift in thought by US PACOM towards the Chinese.
 

IBRIS

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China bring out the rusty old destroyers, Frigates and submarines in numbers to see if these Two allies can be wooo-d.
 
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this is probably to calm Australian fears of a chinese takeover??
 

I-G

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This was the same US Admiral that encouraged a Chinese naval presence in the Indian ocean, and regarding PM Rudd...well, you guys know all about Rudd and his soft heart for the Chinese.
may be he is having some big private business deals with the chinese ..
 

Koji

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this is probably to calm Australian fears of a chinese takeover??
The Chinese may have a lot of mineral interests in Australia, but I can't imagine how it can be construed as a takeover. I see this invitation by Adm. Keating and PM Rudd as a hedge for security issues in Asia.
 

Koji

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how do the Japanese feel about it??
Japanese news sites have been mute about the issue so far. As usual, the right wing will demand increased military independence and use this as an excuse to say that we can no longer depend on the Americans. But they always say this, so it doesn't qualify as a special reaction.
 

Koji

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I am wondering also if the US will begin to play to both sides, similar to its role with Pakistan and India. Any thoughts on this?
 

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