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Mullen To Visit China Next Month
Top U.S. military officer Adm. Mike Mullen will visit China next month, Beijing said June 29, pledging to help improve sometimes rocky relations with Washington.
Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit from July 9-13, Xinhua news agency quoted defense ministry spokesman Yang Yajun as saying. Mullen's counterpart, Gen. Chen Bingde, visited Washington in May.
"China will promote the advancement of relations between the two military forces under the framework of China-U.S. ties," Xinhua quoted Yang as saying.
Yang further congratulated Leon Panetta, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new defense secretary to replace Robert Gates, Xinhua said.
The announcement of Mullen's visit comes after the U.S. and the Philippines launched 11 days of joint naval exercises June 28 amid a simmering maritime row over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Manila and Washington emphasized the exercises were aimed at deepening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern about China's allegedly aggressive actions in the strategic and potentially resource-rich waters.
As tensions in the South China Sea have mounted, China-U.S. military exchanges have quickened, with Gates meeting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Singapore in early June, following a January visit to Beijing.
Mullen To Visit China Next Month - Defense News
Top U.S. military officer Adm. Mike Mullen will visit China next month, Beijing said June 29, pledging to help improve sometimes rocky relations with Washington.
Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will visit from July 9-13, Xinhua news agency quoted defense ministry spokesman Yang Yajun as saying. Mullen's counterpart, Gen. Chen Bingde, visited Washington in May.
"China will promote the advancement of relations between the two military forces under the framework of China-U.S. ties," Xinhua quoted Yang as saying.
Yang further congratulated Leon Panetta, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new defense secretary to replace Robert Gates, Xinhua said.
The announcement of Mullen's visit comes after the U.S. and the Philippines launched 11 days of joint naval exercises June 28 amid a simmering maritime row over territorial claims in the South China Sea.
Manila and Washington emphasized the exercises were aimed at deepening defense ties, and not linked to the rising concern about China's allegedly aggressive actions in the strategic and potentially resource-rich waters.
As tensions in the South China Sea have mounted, China-U.S. military exchanges have quickened, with Gates meeting Chinese Defense Minister Liang Guanglie in Singapore in early June, following a January visit to Beijing.
Mullen To Visit China Next Month - Defense News
