Panetta Visits Chinese Navy Fleet, Tours Vessels

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

QINGDAO, China – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta visited the headquarters of one of China’s three naval fleets on his final stop in China today before heading to New Zealand.

Panetta, the first defense secretary to visit the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy North Sea Fleet headquarters, toured a Chinese frigate and a submarine, according to a defense official traveling with the secretary. Reporters traveling with Panetta were not permitted on the tours.

The secretary met with fleet commander Vice Adm. Tian Zhong, the official said, and the two discussed the importance each country places on its navy, the desirability of increasing engagement and exercises, and the invitation the secretary extended to China to send a ship to the multilateral maritime exercise Rim of the Pacific 2014. The vice admiral seemed pleased at the invitation, the official added.

The official noted that the North Sea Fleet, established in 1960, is based on five installations in northern China and performs a range of missions, including patrolling and protecting the seas in the area, protecting fisheries, conducting rescue missions and supporting scientific research. Fleet activities increasingly focus in international engagement, the official said.

While in Qingdao, the official said, the secretary toured the frigate Yantai, which holds a crew of 172, and recently supported Gulf of Aden counter-piracy operations. Panetta also toured the Great Wall 197 submarine, a conventionally powered sub which holds 55 crews, commissioned in 2003 with torpedo, minelayer and reconnaissance capabilities, the official added.

While the secretary toured the frigate and submarine and attended a command briefing on the fleet, Chinese navy spokesman Sr. Col. Huang Xueping spoke with the traveling press.

He explained the North Sea Fleet is one of three PLA navy fleet headquarters; the others are the East Sea and South Sea fleets.

Generally speaking, Huang said, the fleet’s primary mission is to “safeguard national sovereignty, territory and integrity. Second is to coordinate with other services … [and] third is to participate in national humanitarian [and] disaster relief [efforts].” The fleet also performs other missions as directed by the government, he added.

Asked about his reaction to the secretary’s invitation for the Chinese navy to send a ship to Rimpac 2014, Huang said, “This message is quite positive. So we will staff carefully the request, the invitation, and we will make the response.”

The People’s Liberation Army welcomes the opportunity to participate in international exercises and exchanges, he said. “We think it’s a good chance for us to participate in such kinds of activity, and learn from our colleagues,” he said.

After leaving Qingdao, the secretary flew to New Zealand for the last leg of his third Asia tour, which has also included Japan.

Panetta Takes Questions From Chinese Cadets

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

BEIJING  – Two very different military traditions briefly converged here yesterday when Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, following a speech at the People’s Liberation Army’s Armored Forces Engineering Academy, opened the floor to questions from cadets and officers in the audience.

As the audience waited for Panetta’s arrival – his schedule had been pushed back when his earlier meeting with Vice President Xi Jinping went longer than planned – the trim, green-uniformed young men sat quietly in rows of auditorium seating rising sharply from floor level to perhaps three stories in height. When Panetta appeared, walking down the steps from the top of the auditorium toward the stage, they broke into sustained applause.

The young Chinese soldiers peppered Panetta, the first U.S. defense secretary ever to visit the academy, with questions on topics ranging from how the two nations’ forces can work more closely to Taiwan arms sales to his impressions of the Chinese military.

To the first question, Panetta said he believes two nations’ militaries can work together in several ways. He added that senior leader interaction is the best lead-in to such cooperation, and is “very effective at improving relations.”

“There is noting better to produce cooperation than the ability to openly communicate with one another on an equal basis,” he continued.

Secondly, he said, increasing joint training exercises between U.S. and Chinese armies, navies and air forces could improve the capabilities of both nations’ forces. “It gives us lessons about how we can improve in our operations,” the secretary added, noting that as Pacific powers, both the United States and China share concerns about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, countering piracy and other issues.

The two militaries’ ability to work together against terrorism is critical to the future, Panetta said, while cooperating to help people stricken by disaster “would be a tremendous symbol to the world of how two major powers can work together to help bring relief.”

On the question of U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, Panetta said the issue was discussed during his meetings with Chinese leaders here this week.

Joint communiqués issued in 1972, 1979 and 1982 outline policy agreements between the United States and China and include both countries’ agreement to a “one-China” policy. In the third communiqué, the United States agreed to a gradual reduction of arms sales to Taiwan.

“Let me make clear that the United States has a one-China policy, pursuant to the communiqués, … and that we do not support an independent Taiwan,” Panetta said.

At the same time, he added, the Unites States supports better relations between China and Taiwan.

“Frankly, we have been encouraged by recent developments between China and Taiwan that indicate there is a willingness on both sides to engage in efforts to improve that relationship,” he said.

Panetta said the United States does have a commitment to assist Taiwan, as outlined in the Taiwan Relations Act of 1979.

“Our belief is that this assistance, in some ways, provides better confidence and security on their part to be able to engage [with China] in those kinds of negotiations and discussions. … Our goal is to try to improve the relationship between China and Taiwan … to prevent any kind of conflict in the future,” the secretary told the cadets and officers.

Another question sought Panetta’s impressions of China’s military, and the man in charge of the nearly 3 million active and reserve U.S service members seemed to warm to the topic.

“In order to have an effective military, you have to have good discipline and good order, and you have to have good leadership,” he said. “The one thing I am impressed by when I see the Chinese military is the level of discipline … within the force. That’s extremely important.”

Many officers who work with him in the Pentagon have a lot of combat experience, the secretary noted. He added they would say “the most important thing, if you are in battle, is having that discipline – to be able to respond to orders, to do what you have to do … to achieve victory.”

Strong leaders also are vital to military mission accomplishment, he said.

“That means good officers, good [noncommissioned officers], good soldiers, … good people at every level, who can take control of those they are responsible for,” he said.

Just like China, he added, the United State has great weapons, ships, aircraft and technology.

“But none of that would be worth anything without good men and women who are willing to serve their country. … From what I have seen, you have that good discipline and order,” Panetta said.

Panetta: U.S., Chinese Troops Can ‘Carry Relationship Forward’

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

BEIJING, Sept. 19, 2012 – Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta told a group of Chinese officers and cadets today that the level of cooperation they and their U.S. counterparts achieve will determine much of the Asia-Pacific region’s future stability and prosperity.

“One day, it will be your responsibility to help carry the U.S.-China relationship forward,” he said.

The secretary delivered a speech to some 300 members of the People’s Liberation Army’s engineering academy here on the second full day of his three-day trip to China.

Panetta told them the meetings he has attended during his visit, including one earlier today with Vice President Xi Jinping, made clear that leaders of both countries are working to build “a sustained and substantive United States-China defense relationship that supports the broader United States-China cooperative partnership.”

That partnership began to take root in February 1972, he noted, when then-President Richard M. Nixon visited Beijing as the first U.S. head of state to visit the People’s Republic of China, established in 1949.

Panetta said one of his early U.S. government jobs was in Nixon’s administration. The president’s historic trip was known then as “the week that changed the world,” he added: “A week when our two countries cast aside decades of fear, division, and estrangement in favor of engagement.”

Chinese leaders’ reception of Nixon set the course for the current engagement between the United States and China on “a full range of diplomatic, economic, and security issues,” he said.

Now, he added, the relationship between the two major powers, the world’s two largest economies, will be essential for global security and prosperity in the 21st century.

Panetta cautioned that while he believes deeply that the U.S-China relationship holds long-term promise, “it is clear that this journey is not yet complete – particularly for our two militaries.”

In the security realm, suspicion and a “lack of strategic trust” often gain more attention than cooperation and engagement, the secretary said.

“In [the] spirit of building trust,” he said, “let me share with you today my thoughts on the role that the United States military wants to play in the Asia-Pacific region … [and] how a constructive U.S.-China defense relationship complements that vision.”

The United States’ strategic focus on the Asia-Pacific region rests on the recognition that America’s security and prosperity in the 21st century “will be linked to the security and prosperity of Asia more than any other region on Earth,” he said. The economically dynamic region is of growing importance to U.S. diplomatic, economic, development and security interests, Panetta said, noting that it also faces clear threats that include terrorism, the prospect of natural disasters, maritime security issues, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, piracy and drug trafficking.”

In response to both opportunities and threats, the secretary said, the U.S. government is expanding trade and economic ties, increasing diplomatic engagement and developmental assistance, and rebalancing its military forces.

Despite U.S. defense budget cuts, the Defense Department will expand training and exercises with regional allies and partners, and will build new defense relationships with “a whole range of countries,” he said.

“We are also developing new approaches to military presence and posture across the Asia-Pacific region,” Panetta said. “[And] we are making investments in the capabilities we need to operate and partner effectively.”

As an example, he added, the United States is enhancing its ballistic missile defense capabilities in the region.

“Let me make clear that it is aimed solely at one threat: the threat from North Korea,” the secretary emphasized. “It is no secret that the United States is deeply concerned about the threat of North Korean ballistic missiles striking our allies, striking the United States, striking our forward-deployed forces [and] striking our homeland.”

North Korea has tested nuclear devices and continues to enrich uranium and test ballistic missiles, he noted. Ballistic missile defense systems, like the rebalancing effort itself, are designed to foster peace and sustain the region’s security and prosperity, Panetta said.

For more than 60 years, he said, America has fought to counter tyranny and support a system of rules, norms and institutions in Asia that underpinned the region’s transformation into the “economic powerhouse it represents today.”

As it rebalances to the region, the United States will continue to be guided by what Panetta called a basic set of principles, including:

-- Free and open commerce;

-- A just international order that emphasizes rights and responsibilities of nations and fidelity to the rule of law;

-- Open access by all to the shared domains of sea, air, space and cyberspace; and

-- Resolving disputes peacefully without coercion or the use of force.

Panetta said China’s rise as a major power “made it a key stakeholder in this system,” under which all Asia-Pacific nations can “work together to achieve common objectives – particularly in areas like maritime security, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and peacekeeping.”

Those opportunities won’t come to pass, he said, unless the U.S. and Chinese governments and militaries work together to seize them. “That is why I will continue to make it a priority for the Department of Defense to expand our defense dialogues, our defense exchanges with China,” he added.

Renewed senior-level engagement and military exchanges between the two nations have built momentum, Panetta said, noting that less than a week ago, U.S. and Chinese ships participated in a joint counterpiracy exercise in the Gulf of Aden, off Somalia.

“This is an area of strategic and economic priority to both of our countries, and both the United States and China benefit from ensuring the free flow of commerce through the gulf,” he added. The exercise allowed the two navies to increase their capacity to confront the threat of piracy and gave U.S. and Chinese sailors a chance to work alongside each other toward a common objective, he said.

“These kinds of opportunities are invaluable when it comes to building trust between our two militaries,” the secretary said. He added he has invited China to send a ship to participate in the Rim of the Pacific, or RIMPAC, exercise in 2014. RIMPAC is the world’s largest multilateral naval exercise, held every two years off Hawaii. This year’s exercise involved more than 20 nations’ navies.

Panetta said he is committed to identifying additional opportunities for Chinese participation in multilateral exercises in pursuing the goal of building a military-to-military relationship between the two nations that is healthy, stable, reliable, continuous and transparent.

Some see the U.S. focus on the Pacific “in terms of a zero-sum game, where China’s rise will inevitably put it into conflict with the United States,” the secretary said, but Chinese President Hu Jintao and U.S. President Barack Obama have rejected that view. “It is not what our new defense strategy is all about,” he added.

The rebalance is an attempt not to contain China, but to engage it and expand its role in the Pacific, Panetta told the Chinese officers and cadets. Like many Americans, he added, he admires China’s transformation over the past decades.

“China’s rise has brought millions out of poverty and helped to make the world a more prosperous place,” he said. “I believe that it can also make the world a more secure place, if we work together … to build an enduring foundation for military-to-military relations between the United States and China.”

Both nations’ people can create opportunities today as they did 40 years ago, the secretary said, to move toward more cooperation and “a better and safer future for our children.”

Panetta is the first U.S. defense secretary to visit the academy, and he thanked the school’s leaders for their hospitality during his visit. The secretary traveled to Japan before arriving in China, and will end his trip later this week with a stop in New Zealand.

U.S., China Team Up for Counterpiracy Exercise

From a USS Winston S. Churchill News Release

GULF OF ADEN, Sept. 18, 2012 – Guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S. Churchill and other U.S. Navy assets participated in a counterpiracy exercise with Chinese naval elements near the Horn of Africa yesterday.

The exercise, the first bilateral counterpiracy exercise ever conducted between the United States and China, paired Winston S. Churchill with the Chinese frigate Yi Yang to conduct a combined visit, board, search and seizure boarding.

The focus, officials said, was on bilateral interoperability in detecting, boarding and searching suspected vessels as well as the ability of both Chinese and American naval assets to respond to pirated vessels.

"Piracy is a threat to the freedom of the seas, economic security, and the safety of mariners from all nations,” said Navy Cmdr. Chris D. Stone, Winston S. Churchill's commanding officer. “Bilateral exercises such as this demonstrate the cooperative will of the international community and increase proficiency of multinational forces in confronting the threat.

"We have common regional and global security challenges,” he continued, “and we are able to jointly address those by training together."

Teams from both ships performed the boarding on Winston S. Churchill, which was simulating a pirated vessel. Executing the boarding side by side as a combined U.S.-Chinese team, the team successfully searched the vessel and assisted role-playing mariners.

Participants felt that the training was meaningful, providing a unique opportunity to operate with alongside one another.

"It was exciting to interact with the Chinese sailors and cooperate in a critical environment," said Navy Lt. j.g. Edward R. Kellum, boarding officer for Winston S. Churchill's team. "Any time we work with a foreign military, it adds a different perspective to how we operate. However, to collaborate with the Chinese in an antipiracy framework is a rare opportunity and a real achievement for maritime security."

Following the exercise, leaders from both navies discussed the elements of the boarding to learn how to better operate together in the future.

U.S and Chinese leaders expressed how important and beneficial the training was, both in terms of building cooperative ties and development of techniques to counter piracy.

"We're appreciative of the opportunity to train with other nations to establish ties that will allow us to work together to face the piracy threat," Stone said. "As fellow mariners, we have great admiration for our Chinese counterparts, who are sailing alongside us and other coalition partners to keep the sea lanes safe."

Winston S. Churchill is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility, conducting maritime security operations, theater security cooperation efforts and support missions for Operation Enduring Freedom.