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China confirms meet with U.S. defence chief next week
China has confirmed that the Chinese and U.S. defence chiefs will meet in Vietnam next week, in their first talks since China froze military ties in protest against planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
Defence minister Liang Guanglie will meet U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on the sidelines of a Hanoi meeting of defence chiefs from Southeast Asia and other nations, Guan Youfei, spokesman for the Chinese ministry of defence, said.
China froze military ties with the U.S. after the Obama administration notified Congress in January of a potential $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan. Ties had also been strained by incidents in the South and East China seas, where Chinese territorial claims overlap with several other Asian nations.
The South Sea disputes, and a face-off between China and Japan after Japanese authorities arrested a Chinese trawler captain for colliding with Japanese patrol boats in waters around the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, have strengthened U.S. ties to Japan and Southeast Asian nations, including host Vietnam.
A U.S. defence department spokesman said on Tuesday that it was likely Gates and Liang would meet next week.
China is still holding one of four Japanese nationals, detained for trespassing in a military area shortly before Japan released the trawler captain.
China confirms meet with U.S. defence chief next week
China has confirmed that the Chinese and U.S. defence chiefs will meet in Vietnam next week, in their first talks since China froze military ties in protest against planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
Defence minister Liang Guanglie will meet U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates on the sidelines of a Hanoi meeting of defence chiefs from Southeast Asia and other nations, Guan Youfei, spokesman for the Chinese ministry of defence, said.
China froze military ties with the U.S. after the Obama administration notified Congress in January of a potential $6.4 billion arms package for Taiwan. Ties had also been strained by incidents in the South and East China seas, where Chinese territorial claims overlap with several other Asian nations.
The South Sea disputes, and a face-off between China and Japan after Japanese authorities arrested a Chinese trawler captain for colliding with Japanese patrol boats in waters around the disputed Senkaku or Diaoyu islands, have strengthened U.S. ties to Japan and Southeast Asian nations, including host Vietnam.
A U.S. defence department spokesman said on Tuesday that it was likely Gates and Liang would meet next week.
China is still holding one of four Japanese nationals, detained for trespassing in a military area shortly before Japan released the trawler captain.
China confirms meet with U.S. defence chief next week
