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China scales back military ties with US over F-16s

Dunya News

China plans to halt US-China military exchanges after US announcement to upgrade Taiwan F-16 fleet.

China plans to cancel or postpone some US-China military exchanges after Washington last week announced it would upgrade Taiwans fleet of F-16 fighter jets, a senior US official said.Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Monday with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and urged the U.S. to reconsider the arms sale, warning it would undermine the trust and confidence between the two sides.China regards self-governing Taiwan as part of its territory and cut military ties with the US for several months after the last major arms sale, including Black Hawk helicopters, announced in early 2010.Chinas response this time has been more restrained, apparently because the U.S. did not agree to sell new F-16 plans that Taiwan also wants.The US is obligated under legislation passed by Congress in 1979 to supply Taiwan with weapons for its self-defense.The military balance across the 100-mile (160-kilometre) -wide Taiwan Strait has tipped heavily in the mainlands favor, as Beijing has ramped up defense spending in the past decade or more.At Mondays meeting, Yang did not threaten any specific consequences over the latest $5.85 billion sale. But the senior US official said he was told by Chinese officials in other meetings that China would suspend, cancel or reschedule some military-to-military exchanges.The official gave no further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because of diplomatic sensitivities.The Obama administration has deepened ties with Beijing, and sees the military exchanges as mitigating the risk of US forces tangling with Chinas in East Asia and the West Pacific. In July, Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the US joint chiefs of staff, traveled to China, the first visit of its kind in four years. That followed a visit to the U.S. in May by his Chinese counterpart, Chen Bingde.
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