China, United States look past tensions with joint relief drill
KUNMING: China and the United States wrapped up a three-day humanitarian relief military drill yesterday, looking past simmering tensions over the disputed South China Sea and the deployment of an advanced US anti-missile system in South Korea.
The exercises, held in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming, come a month after a US navy destroyer sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea, prompting fury in Beijing which called the moved illegal and provocative.
That patrol, the latest by Washington to challenge Chinese claims in the strategic waterway, capped a tense year for militaryto-military ties between the world’s two largest economies, which are also at odds over the US decision to base Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system battery system in South Korea to defend against North Korea.
China, neighbouring North Korea, worries the system’s radar will be able to track its own military capabilities.
New uncertainly looms with the shock election of Donald Trump as US president earlier this month, a man who lambasted China on the campaign trail and has suggested Japan and South Korea be allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
But it was all smiles and friendship as Chinese and US soldiers simulated digging out bodies from an earthquakedestroyed building and rescuing people from an overturned boat in a reservoir.
Liu Xiaowu, army commander of the Chinese southern military region, and General Robert Brown, commanding general of the US Army Pacific, chatted amiably as they oversaw the last day of exercises. “Very smart, very good,” Brown said, as Chinese officers explained how they were using new technology, including drones, in the drill.
Jeremy Reynolds, a US army captain based in Hawaii, told Reuters the exercise was a unique opportunity for the two to work together.
“The execution of the exchange went very well between the Chinese and the American forces. We were able to communicate very well through interpreters. There were no major issues. The Chinese did a very good job planning their portions of the exercise and it led to very smooth operations in a very good overall product,” he said, standing on a pontoon bridge. — Reuters