Sino-U.S. military ties depend on more efforts from U.S.

The White House recently signaled its intent to normalize Sino-U.S. military ties. For instance, they hope Secretary of Defense Robert Gates will be invited to visit China and some local media agencies reported that the United States plans to set aside the administrative review process for arms sales to Taiwan.

We should give acknowledgement and encouragement to these positive signals but not general approval. The normalization of Sino-U.S. military ties does not fully depend on the strategic actions of the U.S. government. The United States needs to adjust its strategic mentality and adopt a new way of making policy so as not to let structural contradictions interfere with Sino-U.S. military relations.

The military ties, deemed as a kind of barometer, are regarded as the most sensitive relations among the nations. However, Sino-U.S. military ties are thought to be the most longstanding, yet they are also "the first to be broken and the last to be restored."

To some extent, military exchanges play a role of "security" in the political relations between the two countries. Exchanges in security, military cooperation in particular, compared with those in politics and economy, are lagging behind.

In his address to open the Asian Security Conference held in Singapore on June 2, Gates suggested that China was complicating Sino-U.S. military exchanges. However, it is obvious that the U.S. government is the troublemaker. The Chinese government and army sincerely hope the two armed forces can maintain normal military relations, but in view of the structural factors that hinder Sino-U.S. military ties, strategic suspicion still exists. The two sides should adjust their attitudes, observe regulations and facilitate communications in case of the ups and downs and even deterioration of military ties.

The U.S. side should calmly accept the fact that China will be a military power in the future and abandon the arrogance and superiority that come from its military strength. It is also necessary to make the United States realize that nothing can hold back China's military modernization. Blockades, sanctions and containment can only worsen Sino-U.S. military ties. The only way forward is to welcome and accept the rise of China's military.

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