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Encounters at sea set for 'game rules'

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-06-25 07:23

The Chinese and US militaries will formulate a new "set of principles" to guide their relationship at sea in response to a series of confrontations, representatives from both the armed forces agreed Wednesday in Beijing.

Chinese and US delegations at the 10th Defense Consultative Talks (DCT) said the session ended on a "positive" note, with maritime safety set to be discussed further at a special meeting that could be held as early as next month.

Lieutenant-General Ma Xiaotian, deputy chief of the general staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) briefed reporters following the two-day senior-level annual defense dialogue. He said the upcoming meeting will be part of the Sino-US Military Maritime Consultation Agreement meetings, which the two militaries set up in 1997.

The 12-year-old rules are said to be in need of an update.

"The rules are outdated, with the Chinese Navy expanding its activities on the high seas, especially the South China Sea, and the US increasing its surveillance as a result," said Teng Jianqun, a strategy researcher with the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association.

"New game rules must be written, and this is the key mission at the moment," he said.

Sino-US sea disputes intensified under the current rules because of differing interpretations on the "freedoms of navigation and overflight in an exclusive economic zone (EEZ)", which was set by UN conventions.

The US has insisted "freedom of navigation" includes its activities in China's EEZ and says its actions comply with international practices.

The leader of the US delegation said yesterday that her side saw the meeting as the time to "establish a new framework".

"(The two sides) agreed to establish a working group to develop and define a set of principles that will guide our defense relationship," Michele Flournoy, undersecretary for policy with the US Department of Defense, told reporters before leaving Beijing.

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"We also discussed the importance of maritime safety and of maintaining communications when inadvertent incidents arrive," she added.

In his briefing, Lieutenant-General Ma said China indicated during the meeting that US activities "run against China's moves to guard maritime rights and normal economic activities within its territorial waters".

"But we have agreed on further talks to reduce accidents, which have a negative thrust on military ties," he said.

The two militaries were involved in several sea confrontations starting March 8.

The upcoming meeting will allow the militaries to avoid future incidents, said Senior Colonel Li Jie, a naval researcher.

"Drawing up more game rules, as we call it, will avoid 'backfires' or 'misjudgments'."