Preparations for China-US military meeting underway

TOKYO, March 28 (KUNA) -- China said on Thursday that the preparations for the China-US Military Maritime Consultative Agreement meeting are well underway, and relevant information will be released in due course.
"The two sides are also in coordination on communication and exchanges in other areas," National Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said at a press conference in Beijing, as briefed the media on the communication and coordination between the Chinese and US militaries.
Wu noted that the Chinese and US militaries have made concerted efforts to steadily resume dialogues and consultations this year on the basis of equality and respect, in a bid to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state in San Francisco.
The bilateral Defense Policy Coordination Talks was held in Washington from January 8-9, during which the two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on the development of military-to-military relations and on questions of mutual concern including those related to Taiwan, the South China Sea, and maritime and air security, according to Wu.
From January 5-19, the Chinese side assisted the US side in visiting China to conduct site surveys in search of the remains of missing US military personnel during WWII.
"This year marks the 45th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and the US. We hope the US side will earnestly respect China's core interests and work with the Chinese side towards the same direction to deliver on the important consensus reached between the two heads of state, so as to jointly promote the sound, stable and sustainable development of military-to-military relations," said the spokesman. (end) mk.mt