Gates visits nuclear war command
Source: Agencies |
January 13, 2011, Thursday
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CHINA invited US Defense Secretary Robert Gates inside its nuclear warfare headquarters yesterday, giving him a rare glimpse into the country's nuclear and conventional strategic missile command.
Both the US and China have long-range missiles that could reach the other's shores but both say they have no intention of using them in that way.
"There was a discussion of nuclear strategy and their overall approach to conflict," including China's policy of not using nuclear weapons pre-emptively, Gates told reporters after his visit to the Command of the Second Artillery Force.
"It was a pretty wide-ranging conversation, pretty open," Gates said.
He was speaking on China's Great Wall, where he paid a brief tourist visit before leaving the country for Japan.
Gates' assignment during his four days in China was to patch up damaged ties between the two militaries. He claimed success yesterday, saying military leaders he met support broader engagement.
"I think the discussions were very productive and set the stage for taking the military-to-military relationship to the next level," he said.
Gates said that during the base visit, China's commander of nuclear rocket forces, General Jing Zhiyuan, accepted an invitation to visit US Strategic Command headquarters in Nebraska.
The weapons command center in the Beijing suburb of Qinqhe is a site where a few US officials visited previously, including former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2005.
Gates' trip was dominated by the effort to repair military ties ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington next week.
China pulled out of military talks and withheld an earlier invitation to Gates in protest at the US arms sales to Taiwan.
China agreed on Monday to more direct military cooperation with the US but stopped short of the broad give and take the US says would benefit both nations.
Gates said China was taking seriously his proposal to erect a new, more durable framework for military talks. He hopes to convene the first such discussions in the first half of this year.
The security talks would be a step beyond current contacts largely focused on maritime issues, and would cover nuclear and missile defense issues as well as cyberwarfare and military uses of space.
Hu met Gates on Tuesday and welcomed the renewal of military exchanges with the United States.
Both the US and China have long-range missiles that could reach the other's shores but both say they have no intention of using them in that way.
"There was a discussion of nuclear strategy and their overall approach to conflict," including China's policy of not using nuclear weapons pre-emptively, Gates told reporters after his visit to the Command of the Second Artillery Force.
"It was a pretty wide-ranging conversation, pretty open," Gates said.
He was speaking on China's Great Wall, where he paid a brief tourist visit before leaving the country for Japan.
Gates' assignment during his four days in China was to patch up damaged ties between the two militaries. He claimed success yesterday, saying military leaders he met support broader engagement.
"I think the discussions were very productive and set the stage for taking the military-to-military relationship to the next level," he said.
Gates said that during the base visit, China's commander of nuclear rocket forces, General Jing Zhiyuan, accepted an invitation to visit US Strategic Command headquarters in Nebraska.
The weapons command center in the Beijing suburb of Qinqhe is a site where a few US officials visited previously, including former US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in 2005.
Gates' trip was dominated by the effort to repair military ties ahead of Chinese President Hu Jintao's state visit to Washington next week.
China pulled out of military talks and withheld an earlier invitation to Gates in protest at the US arms sales to Taiwan.
China agreed on Monday to more direct military cooperation with the US but stopped short of the broad give and take the US says would benefit both nations.
Gates said China was taking seriously his proposal to erect a new, more durable framework for military talks. He hopes to convene the first such discussions in the first half of this year.
The security talks would be a step beyond current contacts largely focused on maritime issues, and would cover nuclear and missile defense issues as well as cyberwarfare and military uses of space.
Hu met Gates on Tuesday and welcomed the renewal of military exchanges with the United States.
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