Closer military links bring regional stability

For years the Chinese navy was confined mainly to a coastal defense role. Few of its ships could operate long distances from Chinese waters. But times have changed, and Beijing is building up a blue-water navy. As the size of the fleet increases, so does the potential for conflict with, for example, American vessels. In October 1994, the American aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk had a close encounter off the Shandong coast with an unnamed Chinese submarine.

In a bid to avert the repetition of such an incident, U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen and his Chinese counterpart Gen. Chi Haotian signed an agreement yesterday which will open regular channels of communication between the two militaries. Mr. Cohen's current visit to Beijing is a major step in the efforts of the two powers to normalize contacts.

The goodwill engendered by Mr. Cohen's visit has been buoyed by indications that the U.S. arms embargo on China may be relaxed later this year. This follows a pledge given to U.S. President Bill Clinton by President Jiang Zemin that China would not sell any more missiles to Iran.

Mr. Cohen's visit may also help to dispel Beijing's misgivings about Washington's military alliance with Tokyo. But overshadowing the official reasons for Mr. Cohen's visit is the obvious need for the world's most powerful army and the world's biggest army to come to a mutual understanding. This development will have a beneficial effect on the stability of the region and the rest of the world.

-- The Hong Kong Standard