China says US Exercises Impressive

From DefenseNews

U.S. Exercises Off Guam Impressive: China

By REUTERS, BEIJING

Chinese military officers who observed U.S. naval exercises in the Western Pacific were "deeply impressed", state media reported June 23.

China, one of seven countries attending, sent a 10-member delegation to the Valiant Shield exercises that started on Sunday near Guam, involving more than 290 aircraft, three aircraft carrier strike groups and about 22,000 U.S. forces.

The invitation came from the Commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. William Fallon, on a visit to China in May that was aimed at improving defense contacts between the two often wary military powers.

Fallon has pushed to upgrade China-U.S. military contacts that were severed in 2001 when a Chinese fighter jet collided with a U.S. surveillance plane over the South China Sea, sparking a diplomatic feud after the U.S. crew made an emergency landing in China and were held for 11 days.

"Strengthening military exchange and increasing mutual trust will help the development of the relationship between the armed forces of the two countries," Xinhua said, citing Xie Feng of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Members of the delegation told Xinhua the opportunity gave them a better understanding of the U.S. military and that they were "deeply impressed" by the discipline of U.S. troops and similarities between the war games and actual combat.

"The drill demonstrated the strict and precise training of the U.S. soldiers and officers," Ma Jian, a major general from the headquarters of the General Staff of the People’s Liberation Army, was quoted as saying.

The United States now wants China’s military to reciprocate the access Washington has given the Chinese, senior Pentagon officials told Congress on Thursday.

"We now wait for the next shoe to drop, to find out whether they will reciprocate, because it’s not just about transparency, it’s about reciprocity as well," General John Allen, the Pentagon’s principal director of Asia-Pacific Affairs, told a Congressional hearing.