Admiral Timothy Keating, the head of the US Pacific Command, said the US and Australia had agreed to make the approach to the Chinese Ministry of Defence.
"We are anxious to engage with them at the earliest opportunity," he told the Sydney Morning Herald. "We want to understand much better than we do now China's intentions. We would say: 'Don't stand in isolation in the Pacific'. China does publish a [defence] white paper but we find it to be less than fulfilling," he said.
He said the exercises could begin with small naval and land activities, and then follow with personnel exchanges. He denied that building ties with China would upset the US's relationships with India, Japan or South Korea, its traditional allies.
Read more
The US being friendly and constructive to China would certainly be a worry if it looked like they would soon divide the Asia-Pacific into spheres of influence.
ReplyDelete