Military of China, force comment.
Military of China, force comment.

10 11, State Councilor and Defense Minister Liang will meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

10 12, the Vietnamese capital Hanoi has attracted world’s attention. Vietnam in ASEAN’s rotating presidency, under the proposal, the first ADMM held. Was gathered from the 10 ASEAN countries and Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, Russia, South Korea and the United States secretary of defense dialogue 8.

The meeting was the expansion of defense cooperation between ASEAN member countries a security forum. But outside the focus of attention is clearly more than that. As the Chinese State Councilor and Defense Minister Liang will be in Vietnam and the United States Defense Secretary Robert Gates met, the meeting was described as a thaw of Sino-US military relations, “test the water.” South China Sea issue in the current context of constant noise, whether the United States and the countries at the meeting to engage in some “little tricks” also attracted a lot of outside speculation.

U.S. and Russian officials for the first time participants

host Vietnam has announced that this ADMM the unity of ASEAN member countries will certainly unified and to ensure regional peace, stability and expansion of defense cooperation, determination, marks the ASEAN meeting to be held up to the beginning of defense security cooperation mechanisms. ASEAN cooperation in five priority areas including maritime security, peacekeeping, military medical cooperation, counterterrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster reduction.

According to the agenda will be announced before the Vietnamese Defense Minister Feng Guangqing keynote speaker will be involved in the progress of ASEAN defense and military cooperation, the ASEAN Political Security Community objectives and so on. The conference will also through various documents, including the inaugural ASEAN defense ministers meeting of the Joint Declaration. The meeting will be Defense Senior Officials Group meeting. In the framework of the Conference, China, the United States, Japan, India, Korea and other military delegation will visit Vietnam.

the Vietnamese Ministry of Defense officials said the meeting will not involve specific issues, only the emphasis on political commitment, especially to open the content of future cooperation. But in the published security policies, countries can find the same point in line with the future in order to strengthen the spirit of cooperation to jointly put forward their concerns.

concern is that United States and Russia will be the first to dialogue partners as part of the 10 +8 defense ministers meeting. This is the second year, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting in July decided to formally invite Russia “appropriate arrangements and time to” join the East Asia Summit, ASEAN’s two military powers approached another substantial performance. Analysts believe that Russia will join the ASEAN strategic security situation has undergone subtle changes.

U.S. push to upgrade the South China Sea

pre Vietnamese Ministry of Defense said the defense ministers meeting would not deal with specific issues, including the South China Sea issue. But some experts believe that such a regional security forum like the United States an opportunity to blend the South China Sea, but also could not prepare the country will present their “concern.”

Phoenix TV commentator Hao Zheng believes that the U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in July of this year was held in Hanoi, Vietnam declared the ASEAN Regional Forum, “the South China Sea issue concerns the U.S. national interest,” suggested that the U.S. intends to help solve the South China Sea dispute. This argument was held in September of the ASEAN – U.S. summit and the revisit Obama. “So that the U.S. is likely to old tricks.”

Experts believe that the ASEAN defense ministers meeting is a security conference, and the South China Sea issue is also related to security, so do not rule out the countries to the South China Sea moved to this table, want the U.S. to back their words. The United States is willing to play such a role of a mediator, on the one hand to the ASEAN countries and China to discuss the South China Sea issue, backs tougher on the other hand to show it in the Asia Pacific region’s “leading role.”

analysts pointed out that since the announcement “to return to Southeast Asia”, the United States is at every step, to promote the internationalization of the South China Sea. In the first half, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Asia-Pacific Affairs visited Campbell in Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and other Southeast Asian countries, through a reporter’s question about the United States of the machine’s position on the South China Sea, said it hopes to maintain freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, also want the sovereignty of the South China Sea dispute should be multilateral negotiations.

In July, U.S. Secretary of State Bill Clinton in the ASEAN Regional Forum, said the United States is willing to promote the spirit of ASEAN and China in 2002 “issued by the Universal Declaration of Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea,” the spirit of initiative and confidence to achieve measures. In fact, her remarks to the South China Sea, “ASEAN” of left primer, because the “Declaration” China and ASEAN member countries signed between the Government, rather than between China and the ASEAN Declaration, such a concept substitution is no doubt in order to highlight the issue of the South China Sea between China and ASEAN bilateral situation. October 4, U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines, said Harry Thomas, the United States is willing to assist in the drafting of a legally binding “code of conduct” to address the ASEAN and China’s sovereignty over the South China Sea disputes. This means that the level of U.S. involvement in the South China Sea has increased by a step.

analysts believe that the U.S. actively involved in the South China Sea, with the eastward shift of U.S. strategic center of gravity is the same strain. Recently, the U.S. sent troops to assist the Philippines to eradicate the rebels, continue to the Philippines as a base to expand military influence in Southeast Asia’s intentions clear. In addition to the opportunity of the Sino-Japanese dispute over the Diaoyu Islands, Japan, the U.S. ED also promised to strengthen Japan-US military alliance, the U.S. military presence in Asia is even more “well-founded.” Worrying situation in the United States to create the way the South China Sea, from the inside out to promote the internationalization of the South China Sea, the purpose is to enable China to put more resources into the strategy to solve the South China Sea up to contain China’s rise.

fear of Sino-US military exchanges into a new obstacle to the South China Sea

this ADMM on Sino-US meeting of defense ministers will take the machine , hold bilateral talks, marking the beginning of this year was interrupted by U.S. arms sales to China-US military exchanges with pressing the “reset button.”

Throughout the history of Sino-US bilateral military exchanges, you can use the “good times and bad” to describe. June 5, 1989 President Bush announced sanctions on China, the U.S. military announced that interrupt high-level military exchanges with China, and break for five years, did not resume until 1994. In January, the Obama administration approved $ 6.4 billion arms sales to Taiwan, the Chinese side immediately announced the suspension of visits between military projects. The U.S. and South Korean in the “days of the ship incident”, the joint military exercise in the Yellow Sea, lie in the Sino-US military relations have become strained.

recent United States “newspaper” commentary that due to friction in recent years in the South China Sea, South China Sea has become another focus of U.S. defense exchanges and difficult. The future of Sino-US military relations can develop smoothly, mainly to see whether the United States be careful, do not take the initiative to stir up trouble.

article said that China and the U.S. there is no dispute over sovereignty in the South China Sea, because the right to freedom of the seas and fight in the final analysis because of high-profile involvement of the United States by China and other countries through bilateral diplomatic handling of the dispute, the The issue rose to the multilateral occasions. Obama at the ASEAN summit in September and ASEAN leaders issued a joint statement on the issue in the South China Sea has become more low-key, this is a wise choice. The United States should be careful to avoid the core interest of China to prevent further deterioration of Sino-US military relations.