Chinese defense chief shortens RI visit

Chinese defense chief shortens RI visit

JAKARTA (Reuter): Chinese Defense Minister Chi Haotian met
Vice President Try Sutrisno and defense officials yesterday on
what Asian diplomats saw as a visit to build better ties with
Southeast Asian nations.

The death of China's paramount leader Deng Xiaoping compelled
him to cut his five-day visit short by one day, a defense
ministry spokesman said. Chi is to leave Monday to attend the
funeral the following day, he said.

This means Chi will miss a meeting with President Soeharto
scheduled for Tuesday following Soeharto's return from state
visits to Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Chi instead paid a courtesy call on Try, who visited China
when he was armed forces commander in 1992. Details of their
talks were not made public.

Chi said on his arrival Thursday that Beijing was willing to
develop lasting relations with Indonesia and promote peace and
stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

"I think this is part of a whole process of building a better
understanding with all ASEAN countries, including Indonesia," a
senior Asian diplomat told Reuters.

"The idea is to build more confidence and reduce the threat
perception towards China," he said.

ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) comprises
Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Brunei, Singapore and
Malaysia.

China's sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and
confrontations with other claimants of potentially oil-rich
islands in the area has caused unease in the region.

But Beijing has also sought to allay concerns among the seven
members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),
stressing dialog rather than confrontation.

Diplomatic sources saw nothing strange in Chi continuing his
Indonesia visit despite the death of Deng. The Chinese leader
died from respiratory failure Wednesday, aged 92.

"Deng's death was not a totally unexpected occurence. The
groundwork and preparations were already in place. There was no
need for Chi to rush back in that sense," a diplomat said.

An defense ministry spokesman told Reuters Chi would visit the
holiday island of Bali for a day of relaxation and the military
academy in Magelang, Central Java.

Indonesia resumed diplomatic ties with China only in 1990
after severing them following a 1965 coup attempt by the now
banned Indonesian Communist Party.