Panetta: U.S.-China Relationship One of World’s Most Critical
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta welcomed Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Liang Guanglie to the Pentagon today as part of the first U.S. visit by a Chinese defense minister in nine years.
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“The United States and China are both Pacific powers, and our relationship is one of the most critical in the world,” Panetta said at a news conference with Liang after their meeting.
“In my meeting with General Liang, I expressed my commitment to achieving and maintaining a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous [military-to-military] relationship with China,” the secretary said, adding that at Liang’s invitation he will visit China within the next few months.
“We share many interests across the Asia-Pacific region and beyond,” Panetta added, “from humanitarian assistance to concerns about weapons of mass destruction to terrorism to drug interdictions to trade to counterpiracy.”
The nations have worked together in several areas, the secretary said, and expect to expand cooperation in areas such as peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counterpiracy.
“As you all know,” Panetta said, “the U.S. Department of Defense recently released a new defense strategy, recognizing that no region is more important than the Asia-Pacific for our country's future peace and prosperity.”
Liang spoke through an interpreter, describing the purpose of his visit as being “to implement the important agreement reached by President Hu Jintao and President [Barack] Obama on developing the China-U.S. state-to-state and military-to-military relationship.”
As part of that agreement, the general said, both nations’ militaries will continue to take advantage of ongoing defense consultative talks, defense policy coordination talks, the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement and the defense telephone link between Washington and Beijing.
Both sides, he added, acknowledge that cooperation in security areas in the Asia-Pacific region serves each other's fundamental interests, and that both agree to conduct joint exercises on disaster recovery and counterpiracy operations this year.
“At present, China-U.S. bilateral relationship is on a new starting line in history,” Liang said, “to build a new kind of military relationship based on equality, cooperation and mutual benefit.”
On his tour of U.S. defense facilities, Liang visited Naval Base San Diego in California over the weekend. After he leaves Washington, he will travel to Miami to visit the U.S. Southern Command and its commander, Air Force Gen. Douglas Fraser.
There, Southcom officials will highlight opportunities for practical cooperation in areas such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and expand the conversation on nontraditional security cooperation efforts such as counternarcotics, an important part of Southcom’s mission.
May 9, Liang will visit Camp Lejeune, N.C., for meetings and interaction with 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force and a chance to interact with some of the senior Marine Corps noncommissioned officers.
He also will visit Fort Benning, Ga., Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., and the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., to have lunch with cadets.
At today’s news conference, Panetta described several ways in which the United States and China have already worked together and will expand -- including peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counterpiracy.
“On counterpiracy,” he said, “China has ably conducted maritime operations in the Gulf of Aden for more than three years, and these operations have helped to secure the free flow of commerce in vital sea lanes from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean.”
Thanking Liang for those efforts, the secretary said that later this year U.S. and Chinese ships will conduct a combined counterpiracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden.
Panetta said he also conveyed his appreciation to Liang for China co-chairing a group dedicated to humanitarian assistance and disaster relief on behalf of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
On regional security challenges, the two leaders discussed North Korea and other areas of mutual interest, Panetta said, “areas that require our continued cooperation and dialogue.” They also spoke about maritime areas, cyberspace, nuclear proliferation and missile defense, the secretary said.
The goal is to enhance cooperation throughout the region and with China to promote peace and stability there, Panetta said.
“We recognize that the United States and China will not always agree on every issue,” he added, “but we believe our military-to-military dialogue is critical to ensuring that we avoid dangerous misunderstandings and misperceptions that could lead to crisis.
“A positive, cooperative, comprehensive United States-China relationship is absolutely essential to achieving a secure Asia-Pacific region,” he continued, “and a more secure future for both of our nations.”
U.S., China Must Work Together on Cyber, Panetta Says
By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2012 - Because the United States and China have developed technological capabilities in the cyber arena, the nations must work together to avoid misperception that could lead to a crisis, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta said today.
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In a meeting today between Panetta and Liang -- the first U.S. visit in nine years by a Chinese defense minister -- the two discussed expanding cooperation in areas such as peacekeeping, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and counterpiracy. They also spoke about maritime areas, nuclear proliferation, missile defense and cyberspace.
"It's extremely important that we work together to develop ways to avoid any miscalculation or misperception that could lead to crisis in this area," Panetta said.
A fiscal 2011 report to Congress outlined some of the history between the United States and China in the fledgling military area of cyber defense.
The report, "Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2011," said that many computer systems around the world, including those owned by the U.S. government, were the target of intrusions, some of which appeared to have originated in China. The intrusions, it said, focused on exfiltrating information, or stealthily removing information from computer networks.
In China, that nation's 2010 Defense White Paper noted its own concern about foreign cyber warfare efforts and highlighted the importance of cyber security in China's national defense.
"In parallel with its military preparations, China has increased diplomatic engagement and advocacy in multilateral and international forums where cyber issues are discussed and debated," the report says.
Beijing's agenda often is in line with Russian efforts to promote more international control over cyber activities, the report says, adding that China has not yet agreed with the U.S. position that existing mechanisms, such as International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict, apply in cyberspace.
"China's thinking in this area is evolving as it becomes more engaged," the report concludes.
At the news conference, in response to a query about the nature of his and Panetta's discussions on cyberspace, Liang seemed enthusiastic about answering the question.
"Yes, we did talk about the cyber security issue ... during the meeting that I had with Secreta
ry Panetta," he said.
ry Panetta," he said.Liang said he's answered the same question many times, including during the Shangri-La Dialogue in 2011 and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers Meeting-Plus in 2010.
Also that year, the United States and China discussed the issue during the second round of the China-U.S. Strategic Security Dialog in Beijing, the general said.
"I can hardly agree with the proposition that the cyber attacks directed to the United States are directly coming from China," Liang said. "And during the meeting, Secretary Panetta also agreed on my point that we cannot attribute all the cyber attacks in the United States to China."
Cyber attacks are important to all countries around the world, Liang said, and concern politics, the economy, the military and people's livelihood.
"I can hardly agree with the proposition that the cyber attacks directed to the United States are directly coming from China," Liang said. "And during the meeting, Secretary Panetta also agreed on my point that we cannot attribute all the cyber attacks in the United States to China."
Cyber attacks are important to all countries around the world, Liang said, and concern politics, the economy, the military and people's livelihood.
"Therefore," he said, "I believe it is correct for all the nations to place such great importance ... on cyber security."
Liang said he and Panetta also talked about the possible ways that China and the United States could jointly work to find ways to strengthen cyber security. "Although we did not touch upon the d
etails or technical issues in this regard," he added. "We will leave that to experts."
Liang said he and Panetta also talked about the possible ways that China and the United States could jointly work to find ways to strengthen cyber security. "Although we did not touch upon the d
etails or technical issues in this regard," he added. "We will leave that to experts."
Panetta applauded the general's frankness in discussing cyber issues.
"Both the United States and China have developed advanced technology with regard to the cyber arena," the secretary said. "And it's true, as the general pointed out, that we agreed that there are other countries, there are hackers, there are others involved in some of the attacks that both of our countries receive.
Panetta added that he appreciates the general's willingness to see if the United States and China can develop an approach to having exchanges to develop better cooperation in the cyber arena.http://www.xtube.com/watch.php?v=Mhr8i-S865-
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