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Trust vital to US, China military ties

By Cui Xiaohuo (China Dail)
Updated: 2009-06-25 08:05

"The two nations are like two medieval knights that respect each other and can even work hand in hand to save the women and children around them. But they know they remain competitors," Sun told China Daily.

The nation's histories have yielded many examples when the level of the "trust thermometer" has risen to warm and plunged to freezing.

They were joined by a common vision in the early 1970s, when, as China's relationship with the then Soviet Union was deteriorating, the US saw a prime opportunity to build bridges between the East and West.

That trust in each other's military and strategic aims helped with the setting up of links between top defense officials on both sides, as well as consultation channels on maritime and disarmament issues.

But the trust has been marred along the way by political and diplomatic disagreements, which have led to military exchanges being suspended five times in three decades.

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"The distrust between the militaries often results in political, economic or diplomatic pressure for both China and the US," said Tao Wenzhao, a senior expert on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "But stern actions often lead to nothing. The two nations still need a open, candid and frank channel on the road to military mutual trust."

The fear that still exists for many in the US is evident. Ike Skelton, a US Democrat congressman who is chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, even aired his concerns in late March about "some of the continuing trends and ambiguities regarding China's military modernization, including its missile buildup across from Taiwan and the steady increase of its power projection capabilities."

But Wang Fan warned it would be a big mistake if China and the US allowed a lack of trust to deadlock their burgeoning relationship.

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