U.S., China resume stalled military talks

[unhappycamper]

U.S., China resume stalled military talks
By Christopher Bodeen - The Associated Press
Posted : Friday Feb 27, 2009 12:07:34 EST

BEIJING — China and the U.S. resumed military-to-military consultations Friday after a five-month suspension over American arms sales to Taiwan, but a top Chinese officer warned the exchanges remain in a “difficult period.”

China froze military exchanges in October to register its anger over a $6.5 billion U.S. arms sale to Taiwan that included advanced weaponry such as Patriot missiles and Apache attack helicopters. China, which claims self-ruled Taiwan is part of its territory, complained that the sale interfered with its internal affairs.

Contacts resumed with talks led by David Sedney, a U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense, and Maj. Gen. Qian Lihua, the Chinese Defense Ministry’s head of foreign affairs.

Qian was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as saying that contacts would remain tenuous unless the U.S. removes remaining obstacles to improvement.

“China-U.S. military relations still stay at a difficult period. We expect the U.S. side to take concrete measures for the resumption and development of our military ties,” it quoted Qian as saying.


Rest of article at: http://armytimes.com/news/2009/02/ap_us_china_talks_022709/%2e