China meets with 'enlarging circle of friends'

Ryacudu, the Indonesian defense minister, told China Daily on the sidelines of the dialogue that "it is imperative to find a solution in the South China Sea" as almost 50 percent of global trade passes through the area, including 30 percent of the world's oil.

On the subject of political solutions for issues in the South China Sea issue, Ryacudu said all parties should respect documents such as the UN charter.

Lu Yin, an associate researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies at China's National Defense University, said Sun's intensive two-way contacts proved that China is not engaging in "self-isolation", but that it has "an enlarging circle of friends".

"It is routine for countries like China and the US to treat the dialogue as a platform for two-way meetings to boost understanding and make timely liaisons … When countries have trouble understanding China's intentions behind its growth, China should take the dialogue as a chance to make its ideas heard and show self-confidence," Lu added.

The outcomes were not only about easing tension in the South China Sea. During the sessions on Saturday, China and France agreed to strengthen cooperation in intelligence on fighting terror.

Guan Youfei, a senior PLA official in charge of the PLA's military diplomacy and a witness at Sun's meetings, told China Daily that "a strong willingness to boost two-way cooperation was part of responses made by all the parties involved in the meetings, a fact that runs contrary to what Carter has labeled as 'self-isolation'".

"They were also ready to peacefully resolve various disputes through peaceful means," said Guan, who is director of the Office for International Military Cooperation at the Chinese Central Military Commission.

As Asia is still faced with a lot of issues and emerging security challenges, such as terrorism and natural disasters, "a consensus was shared among the parties that we need to join hands to make efforts", Guan added.

Brownlee, the New Zealand defense minister, told China Daily: "China has been engaged with a lot of countries very productively, and it has also been engaged with us — New Zealand. And we appreciate its engagement."

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn