China's Warm welcome awaits Admiral Mike Mullen

[houshanghai]

China's Warm welcome awaits Admiral Mike Mullen
Posted on 08 July 2011 by admin Print This Post



2011-07-08 (China Military News cited from China Daily) -- Top US military officer Admiral Mike Mullen will receive a warm and high-level welcome when he starts his visit to China on Sunday, with his Chinese counterpart taking care of the arrangements in person.
"Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chen Bingde has examined and approved the schedule and arrangements for the visit in person, and called Admiral Mullen to discuss them," Ministry of National Defense spokesman Yang Yujun said on Thursday at a news conference on the visit.
"China attaches great importance to the visit," he said.
Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, leading a 39-member delegation, will stay in China for four days. He will spend the first two days in Beijing and then visit military units in Shandong and Zhejiang provinces, Yang said.
Chen will host a welcoming ceremony and banquets for Mullen, and the two generals will attend a joint news conference after their official meeting.
Aside from meeting high-level government and military leaders, Mullen will also visit units covering every part of the Chinese military including the army, navy, air force and the PLA Second Artillery Force, a strategic missile force that controls the country's nuclear weapons, Yang said.
"These arrangements reflect the positive attitude and sincerity of the Chinese side to develop bilateral military ties," he said.
"The meeting of the two military leaders will give a very important boost to ties between the two militaries."
The visit comes after the United States and the Philippines held an 11-day joint naval exercise amid a simmering maritime row over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Yang did not confirm whether the issue will be discussed during the meeting. "But if the US side raises it (the South China Sea issue), we will express our concerns."

He dismissed the possibilities of Mullen flying to Southeast Asian nations after his China visit.
Mullen's visit follows Chen's US tour in May.
"We believe regular meetings between leaders of the two militaries ... will contribute to boosting mutual understanding and trust," Yang said.
This is Mullen's first visit to China in his current position. His last visit to China was in 2007 when he was US chief of naval operations.
"Frequent visits of high-level officials, along with China's increasing confidence, imply a more transparent and practical military relationship between China and the US," said Zhao Weibin, a researcher at the Academy of Military Science under the PLA.
Mullen's visit offers an opportunity for the two sides to exchange views on regional issues such as the South China Sea, according to Zhao. "The US has claimed interests in the area, so it is impossible for it to treat this issue justly," she added.
"So this visit will give a platform to both China and the US to show their stances, concerns and bottom lines."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/usa/epaper/2011-07/08/content_12864158.htm

 

[houshanghai]

Mullen's visit to draw US, China closer
Updated: 2011-07-08 11:18
By Li Daguang (China Daily)
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BEIJING - Invited by Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Chen Bingde, United States Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen will visit China from Sunday to Wednesday.

This is in response to Chen's visit to the US in May, and is considered an important step in Sino-US military relations.

The visit will make Sino-US military relations more stable. After ups and downs in 2010, the military relationship started to recover this year.

At the beginning of 2010, as the US government announced a $6.4 billion arms sale to Taiwan despite protest from the Chinese government, a series of military exchanges, such as US Defense Secretary Robert Gate's visit to China and Chen's visit to the US, were canceled.

However, communications between the two countries' top military officials resumed in the fall of 2010, with Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie meeting Gates in Hanoi in October. During that meeting, Gates also accepted Liang's invitation to visit China in January.

In December 2010, the US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michele Flournoy and General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the PLA, headed the 11th annual round of defense consultations in Washington DC.

Military relations between the two countries have recently improved. During Chen's visit to the US in May, the two militaries reached six agreements that will enhance exchanges and cooperation. Mullen's upcoming visit could also be considered a concrete step for the two countries to implement the agreements.

Inviting Mullen to visit China shows that Beijing is keen to build a world of security and harmony. Although cooperation plays an important part in military relations, and the two militaries have reached consensus on some major issues, there still remains differences in opinions between them.



In recent years, as China's national strength has increased rapidly, some have raised suspicions on the intentions of China's effort to improve its national defense system and army. This has not only distorted China's strategic intentions, but also damaged China's international image, affecting the development of Sino-US military relations and political atmosphere.

Given the current international security situation, China's initiatives in the international community is to build up a harmonious world as this is the core value of traditional Chinese culture; and China will never seek hegemony.

Through strengthening Sino-US military ties, China aims to make US forces better understand its concept of "treating others as you would like to be treated", which is a traditional Chinese way of thinking and can present China's attitude toward military relations.

Mullen's visit to China is of a great significance as it sends a positive message to the outside world and is an important step in building a reliable bilateral military relationship. Military ties have always been a barometer of overall relations between the two nations.

China and the US have to cooperate on both international and regional issues. To maintain sustainable and stable development, the two countries need to have mutual respect for each other's core interests and major concerns. They need to properly handle differences and sensitive issues, continue to nurture and enhance strategic mutual trust and expand common interests.

China is willing to make a joint effort with the US under the win-win partnership framework created by President Hu Jintao and US President Barack Obama. Mullen's visit will not only advance military ties but also serve as the promoter of bilateral relations.

The author is military specialist with the National Defense University of the PLA.

For China Daily



Mullen's visit to draw US, China closer

 

[houshanghai]

China eyes positive results for US admiral's visit


BEIJING - China has made careful preparations for US Admiral Mike Mullen's visit next week and expects the trip to yield positive results, a spokesman said Thursday.

Mullen, chairman of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, will make the visit from Sunday to Wednesday, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said at a press briefing in Beijing.

It's a return visit for Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army Chen Bingde's trip to the United States in May, Yang said.

"The visit is an important issue for the military-to-military relations between the two countries," Yang said.

Chen himself approved the arrangements for the visit and made a phone call to Mullen on the visit," according to the spokesman.

Chen will hold talks with the U.S. admiral and host him at a welcoming dinner. A welcoming ceremony is slated for Monday morning ahead of their talks.

"The two sides will exchange views extensively on the further development of China-U.S. military ties, the international and regional security situation and other issues that both are concerned with," Yang said.

Mullen is also scheduled to visit China's air force, army and navy as well as the second artillery force in Beijing, Shandong and Zhejiang.

"Those arrangements reflect China's positive attitude to and sincerity for the development of the military-to-military relationship," said the spokesman.

"We look forward to positive results for Admiral Mullen's visit with the joint efforts of the two sides, just like Chief of the General Staff Chen's visit to the United States in May," he added.

China eyes positive results for US admiral's visit

 

[Dragon Emperor]

China should press for US to stop arms sales to Taiwan, saying that it would be like arming rebels against China, just like how if China arms either side in the American Civil War-which would be an interference in American internal matters.

 

[siegecrossbow]

China should press for US to stop arms sales to Taiwan, saying that it would be like arming rebels against China, just like how if China arms either side in the American Civil War-which would be an interference in American internal matters.

The English and French did. Didn't prevent them from becoming U.S. allies half a century down the road either.

 

[SpArK]

Mullen in news again after an eventful last week.

 

[no_name]

Should invite him to tour sanya's scenic spots.

 

[houshanghai]

Saturday, July 09, 2011
U.S., China Military Relations ‘Vital,’ Mullen Says
U.S., China Military Relations ‘Vital,’ Mullen Says

By Bloomberg News - Jul 9, 2011 8:52 PM PT

U.S., China Military Relations
U.S. military ties with China are “absolutely vital,” Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Beijing today at the start of a visit that will conclude July 13.

“I can’t think of any place where there is more to be done and more to be gained than between the U.S. and China,” Mullen said. “We have not always enjoyed a great success in our military-to-military relationship. I would want to very much look into the future in terms of the success of this relationship.”

The world’s two biggest economies have pushed to strengthen military ties that have been strained on several occasions because of issues including a 2010 U.S. decision to sell arms to Taiwan and naval confrontations in 2009. Increases in Chinese defense spending, which trails only U.S. expenditure, are also raising concern among neighboring countries with competing territorial claims.

“Admiral Mullen should send a clear message to his Chinese counterparts that the U.S. welcomes improvements in military relations as it benefits both sides, but it will not seek them at the price of its own security,” Heritage Foundation analysts Dean Cheng and Walter Lohman wrote in a note ahead of the visit.
Taiwan Arms Sale

Tensions rose last year after the U.S. announced plans in January to sell $6.4 billion of missiles, helicopters and ships to Taiwan, which China considers a renegade province that should be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary.

China broke off bilateral military-to-military talks until late 2010, ahead of visits by former U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates to Beijing in January this year and Chinese President Hu Jintao’s state visit to the U.S. that same month. Chinese General Chen Bingde, chief of staff of the People’s Liberation Army, visited the U.S. in May, further driving efforts to improve ties.

Mullen will give a speech today to students at Renmin University in Beijing, encouraging themes he first advanced in a speech earlier this year at the Center for American Progress. Mullen will highlight the need for mutual respect, a local and global focus and looking more to the future than to the past, said his spokesman, Navy Captain John Kirby.

After the speech, Mullen will tour the university campus and meet with leadership at the headquarters of the PLA’s Second Artillery, Kirby said in an e-mailed statement. The day will conclude with a dinner hosted by Chen and a live performance of traditional Chinese dance and music.

Mullen also plans to travel on to Japan and South Korea.
China Defense Spending

China will spend 601.1 billion yuan ($93 billion) on defense this year, an increase of 12.7 percent, Li Zhaoxing, spokesman for the National People’s Congress, said in March. The nation’s defense spending increased by an average of 16.2 percent a year from 1999 to 2008, according to a white paper published in 2009. The biggest increase was 20.4 percent in 2006.

By comparison, the U.S. House of Representatives on July 8 passed a $649 billion defense spending bill for fiscal 2012. U.S. analysts including National Defense University’s Phillip C. Saunders say China’s actual defense spending is much larger than figures given by the government as those numbers may not include international arms purchases and other expenses.

 

[somebozo]

He should - as a military leader of economically surrendered nation - receive an grand slam welcome..Somewhere, Sun Tzu in his grave has come back to life!

 

[peaceful]

He should - as a military leader of economically surrendered nation - receive an grand slam welcome..Somewhere, Sun Tzu in his grave has come back to life!

We respect all US service men and women. Your comments above are really bad.

 

[Viva_Viet]

US Admiral Mullen says to maintain Asia presence amid South China Sea dispute



The United States is committed to maintaining its presence in the South China Sea, the top military official said in China Sunday, adding that Washington was worried disputes over the resource-rich waters could lead to serious conflict.


Tensions in the disputed waters of the South China Sea threaten to distract Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a visit to China intended to build on a recent thaw in bilateral military ties.


Adm. Mullen visits to Beijing as the U.S. and its two main regional military partners—Japan and Australia—begin joint naval drills in the South China Sea for the first time, a move likely to anger China, which claims sovereignty over nearly all of those waters.


Japan and the U.S. will each provide a destroyer, and Australia a patrol boat for the joint drills to improve tactical movement and communication off the coast of Brunei, two officials from Japan's Defense Ministry said in interviews.


The officials said the three countries have staged joint drills annually since 2007, but never before in the South China Sea, where Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei also have conflicting territorial claims.


China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but it has repeatedly protested in the past over U.S. naval exercises near what it sees as its territorial waters. Australian officials weren't immediately available for comment.


Pentagon officials appeared initially to be unaware of the exercises—as were the military's Pacific Command—and after confirming them took pains to play the down the exercises and head off any potential damage to U.S.-China relations, with one official calling them "very low level."


Referred to as a "Passex," a Navy term for a passing exercise, the maneuvers are expected to occur shortly after a fleet review by the ships participating in a Brunei defense exhibition. The fleet review will take place five nautical miles off the coast of Brunei. Along with the Japanese, Australian and U.S. ships, the fleet review is expected to include two Chinese vessels, the Wuhan and the Yulin, U.S. officials said.


The U.S. has been trying to encourage more multilateral exercises with its allies in Asia. But U.S. military officials insisted the event announced by Japan "had nothing to do with sending a signal" to China.


"These are routine exercises we conduct in international waters all the time," said a defense official. "No nation should take any umbrage at this very minor, low level, routine exercise."


But even before the joint naval drills were announced, diplomats in Beijing said they expected the South China Sea issue to dominate Adm. Mullen's visit.


He is the first chairman of the Joint Chiefs to visit China since 2004, and the first top-level military or defense official to come to China since Robert Gates, the former defense secretary, had his visit upstaged by China's test flight of the J-20—its first stealth fighter—in January.


Adm. Mullen's five-day tour is a reciprocal visit following one to the U.S. in May by General Chen Bingde, his Chinese counterpart, who attempted to reassure his American hosts that China did not represent a military threat to them.


Adm. Mullen is expected to convey a similarly positive message as he tours several military sites, meets Chinese military and civilian leaders, including President Hu Jintao's heir apparent, Vice President Xi Jinping, and delivers a speech to Chinese students.

But even as the two sides attempt to rebuild military relations, which only resumed in January following a year-long suspension by Beijing, tensions are mounting again over the South China Sea, which expert say could include valuable deposits of oil and gas.


Mullen's journey to create a security dialogue with Beijing, the officials said, but the exercise of American naval warships in the South China Sea threatens to exacerbate tensions.


Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint U.S. Staff, left for a four-day tour later this afternoon, “the Pentagon said in a statement.


Mullen – who in May was welcomed by his Chinese counterpart, the People’s Liberation Army Chief of Staff Bing Chen – “welcomes the continued engagement and dialogue” with Chen in Beijing, the statement said.


Admiral Travel strikes a common naval drill set for Saturday, the U.S., Japanese and Australian fleets sailing the South China Sea, which China claims most of the sea surface.


Japan Ministry of Defense released the year and said Friday it will send a destroyer Shimakaze to participate in a U.S. Navy destroyer and a Royal Australian Navy patrol boat for the formation of communications and other exercises Brunei.


China opposed to the old naval exercises in the South China Sea, and tensions in the strategic region rich in resources has risen in recent weeks. Philippines and Vietnam have expressed concern over what they call the more aggressive of China there.


China has insisted it wants a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes, but Washington has warned against participation in the conflict intensified.

US Admiral Mullen says to maintain Asia presence amid South China Sea dispute - Focus discussion - People Forum

Workers look at the missile destroyer USS Chung Hoon before a U.S.-Philippine joint naval exercise in June near the disputed Spratly Islands.

Oh, their drill is in Brunei , Inside CHina's red line, right ??

 

[Way to go]

lol. you may need to change your name again if someone report your post. poor guy.

 

[Viva_Viet]

lol. you may need to change your name again if someone report your post. poor guy.

Ops, sorry, it's out side your Red line

 

[Way to go]

No country will go to war with China for Vietnam. Give it up my friend.

 

[peaceful]

they are more than welcomed to have drills in that area.
they can even do it 100 times a week.

actually, we will watch and learn from them. win-win solution for everyone.