| |
| |
![]() |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
WASHINGTON : US Defence Secretary Robert Gates and his Chinese counterpart General Liang Guanglie have used a new telephone hotline between the US and Chinese defence ministries for the first time, the Pentagon said.
Gates and Liang spoke to each other for about 30 minutes on Thursday over the direct telephone link, said Major Stuart Upton, a Pentagon spokesman.
Upton said Gates used the call to urge China to work with the newly elected leaders of Taiwan, and reiterated that the United States opposes any unilateral effort by either China or Taiwan to change the status quo.
Liang pushed for an end to US-Taiwanese military relations, according to Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, which cited a defence ministry statement. China regards Taiwan as a renegade province.
Gates congratulated Liang on his recent promotion to defence minister "and welcomed this important step forward in enhancing communications between our ministries," Upton said.
The spokesman said they discussed "building on the positive momentum in military-to-military relations, encouraging the trend of greater transparency at all levels in which substantive dialogue can help avoid miscalculation."
Liang said the direct telephone link was an important step that served both countries' long-term strategic interests, according Xinhua.
The direct telephone link between the US and Chinese defence ministries has taken years to establish despite periodic crises in military relations between the two powers.
US President George Bush and Chinese President Hu agreed to establish the hotline in September 2007, but a formal agreement between the two defence establishments was not signed until February 29.
- AFP/ir
|
