. Medical and Hospital News .




.
SUPERPOWERS
US tilt to Asia not aimed against China: Panetta
by Staff Writers
Beijing (AFP) Sept 19, 2012


US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta sought to reassure Beijing on Wednesday over Washington's strategic tilt to the Pacific, telling a military audience it was not an attempt to curb Chinese power.

President Barack Obama, concerned about China's growing military and economic might, has called for a shift in focus to the Asia-Pacific region, with the US Navy planning to station most of its ships in the area.

But China has questioned whether the American military's "pivot" to Asia is really about countering Beijing.

"Our rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region is not an attempt to contain China. It is an attempt to engage China and expand its role in the Pacific," Panetta said in the Chinese capital.

"It's about creating a new model in the relationship of our two Pacific powers," he told cadets at an armoured force engineering academy.

As the world's two largest economies, China and the US must forge stronger ties between their armies to avoid potential crises, Panetta said.

"Our goal is to make sure that no dispute or misunderstanding escalates into unwanted tensions or a conflict," Panetta said.

His remarks represent the latest effort by Washington to bolster military relations with the People's Liberation Army, which has displayed reluctance to promote contacts with the American top brass.

The Pentagon chief also found himself in the middle of Chinese domestic politics, becoming the first foreign dignitary to meet Vice President Xi Jinping, the country's leader-in-waiting, since he re-emerged from a two week absence from public view.

Xi appeared "very healthy and very engaged," extending a scheduled 45-meeting to more than an hour, Panetta told reporters.

Xi looked relaxed as he greeted Panetta in the Great Hall of the People, despite a wave of rumours about the vice president's health and political career during the fortnight-long hiatus.

Panetta's three-day visit to Beijing -- his first as Pentagon chief -- coincides with mounting tensions between China and Japan over disputed islands in the East China Sea, with a wave of anti-Japan demonstrations across China on Tuesday.

Panetta appealed for calm on both sides and described US policy as based on "basic principles" including free commerce, the rule of law, open access to sea, air, space, and cyberspace, and resolving disputes "peacefully without coercion or the use of force".

In his speech to young military officers, Panetta stressed the importance of international norms and rules to ensure stability in the Pacific, a clear reference to a spate of territorial disputes that often pit the economic powerhouse China against smaller countries.

International law, backed up by US naval power, had helped bring prosperity and peace to the region and China had profited from it, he argued.

"Many countries -- and many millions of people in the region -- have benefited from this rules-based order, and that includes China," he said.

China and the United States have disagreed about navigation rights in the western Pacific, with Beijing taking an assertive stance on claims to the South China Sea and the East China Sea.

Panetta, who had lunch with the Chinese cadets in a military canteen, said he was hopeful the feud over the archipelago in the East China Sea would be settled peacefully after his talks this week in Tokyo and Beijing.

"I am confident after my discussions with both Japanese leadership and Chinese leaders that both are concerned with finding ways to to able to resolve these issues," he told the cadets in a question and answer session after his speech.

Panetta also tried to reassure China over the deployment of a second powerful US radar to Japan for its missile defence system, saying it was aimed at the threat posed by North Korea's ballistic missile arsenal and not at China.

In two days of talks, Panetta said the Chinese signalled a readiness for a dialogue on cyber weapons and security, which he called a valuable first step.

Pentagon officials say US networks are repeatedly probed and hacked from Chinese sources and Washington has long pressed Beijing to address US concerns.

Related Links
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com




.
.
Get Our Free Newsletters Via Email
...
Buy Advertising Editorial Enquiries


Philippines says coup plotter in secret China talks
Manila (AFP) Sept 19, 2012 - The Philippines said Wednesday a politician who was once jailed for coup plotting had been in secret talks with China over a territorial row, as the tactic appeared to backfire amid bitter infighting.

Senator Antonio Trillanes had been "authorised" to hold back-channel talks with Chinese officials to settle a row over competing claims to Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea, a spokesman for President Benigno Aquino said.

However the appointment caused a deep rift with Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario, who had been officially in charge of negotiations with China and was excluded from the unofficial talks.

Trillanes claimed he had been responsible for easing tensions with China after the dispute erupted in April, and accused del Rosario of "treason" because of his allegedly aggressive tactics.

"Right now there is no more crisis involving Scarborough, but we were nearly brought to war. That was a treasonous act (by del Rosario)," Trillanes told AFP Wednesday, repeating a claim he made on local radio and to politicians.

He said public statements made by del Rosario accusing China of bullying the Philippines nearly led to open confrontation.

Trillanes said he had met "top Chinese officials" at least 15 times in Manila and in Beijing since May.

In a televised interview Monday, del Rosario said back-channel talks "were doing more harm than good", although he did not name Trillanes.

After the row spilled out to the local media, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda sought to limit the fall-out at a press conference on Wednesday.

"I can categorically say that the secretary of foreign affairs has the trust and confidence of the president," Lacierda told reporters.

However he said he could not answer questions as to why Aquino had appointed Trillanes as an extra negotiator.

Trillanes' appointment then became the top political story in the country when Senate president Juan Ponce Enrile launched a blistering attack on the former navy man in a nationally televised address.

Enrile, the third highest official in the country, said he backed del Rosario and accused Trillanes of undermining the Philippines' position with China.

"This guy is a fraud," Enrile said. "He told the Chinese we cannot impose our coastal protection." Trillanes walked out of the Senate, refusing to answer questions from Enrile.

The dispute between China and the Philippines began in April, when ships from both nations engaged in a stand off at Scarborough Shoal.

The shoal is an outcrop of rocks about 230 kilometres (140 miles) from the western coast of the Philippines' main island of Luzon. China claims nearly all of the South China Sea, even waters close to other Asian countries.

A former navy lieutenant, Trillanes was among the leaders of two failed coups in 2003 and 2007 against then president Gloria Arroyo.

He won a Senate seat in 2007 from a jail cell while on trial for rebellion. He was subsequently granted amnesty by Aquino, a fierce critic of Arroyo, before the trial ended.



.

. Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle



SUPERPOWERS
China's military academy launches website
Beijing (UPI) Sep 18, 2012
China's College of Defense Studies has opened a multilingual website. China's College of Defense Studies is under the National Defense University of the People's Liberation Army and is intended to project a positive image of the PLA. Opening to the global community, the www.cdsndu.org website contains sections in not only Chinese but English, French, Russian and Spanish as well, ... read more


SUPERPOWERS
EU offers Italy 670 mn euros in quake aid

Norway supplies $168M for famine relief

Haunting 'Land of Hope' part shot on location in Fukushima

Japan slams brakes on $63 billion in spending

SUPERPOWERS
ITT Exelis announces new capability in GPS interference, detection and geolocation

Countdown: a month to go to Galileo's next launch

Monitech Announces Zero-Installation Tracking System for Automotive Industry

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Complete First Launch Exercise for Next Generation GPS Satellites

SUPERPOWERS
Seeing fewer older people in the street may lead low-income adults to fast-track their lives

Genetic mutation may have allowed early humans to migrate throughout Africa

Ancient tooth may provide evidence of early human dentistry

People change moral position without even realizing it

SUPERPOWERS
Rapid urban expansion threatens biodiversity

Major changes needed to protect species and ecosystems

Study of giant viruses shakes up tree of life

Britain grants first licence for badger cull

SUPERPOWERS
Cambodians fight malaria with the push of a button

Elton John cites US discrimination of HIV inmates

Yosemite extends hantavirus alert to 230,000

Precautions for Tick-Borne Disease Extend "Beyond Lyme"

SUPERPOWERS
Chinese man wrongly sent to labour camp: panel

H.K. students protest over 'brainwashing' classes

China villager bombs local government office

China's Wen says property controls still needed: Xinhua

SUPERPOWERS
Obama denies gun-running probe a 'whitewash'

US authorities botched Mexico gun-running probe

Drug threat behind Brazil buying Seahawks

Chinese, US ships conduct joint anti-piracy drill

SUPERPOWERS
China pledges continued support to resolve euro crisis

Digital initiative aimed at helping world's poor

US finance sector warned of cyber attacks

Bank of Japan easing total hits $1 trillion


Memory Foam Mattress Review

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily Express :: SpaceWar Express :: TerraDaily Express :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

.

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2012 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement