Military cooperation between Russia and China is not targeted at
a third country but is aimed to guarantee regional peace and
security, stressed Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Ivanov in
Beijing Wednesday at a press conference after talks with his
Chinese counterpart.
Ivanov said that during the talks with Chinese Minister of
National Defense Cao Gangchuan, the two sides discussed the
framework of cooperation in military technology, but details of
this cooperation need further consultation.
The military cooperation between the two sides is large in
scale and rapid in speed, including exchanges of visits, personnel
training and sending military observers to the other to watch
military exercises, Ivanov said.
Ivanov said he also exchanged views with Cao on the nuclear
issue of the Korean Peninsula. "The nuclear issue has an impact on
the peace and security of the Asian and Pacific region," he
said.
"We believe that there are no other channels to solve the issue
than political and peaceful means," he said. "We call upon the
parties concerned to start the third round of six-party talks
early."
On the fight against terrorism, Ivanov said the fight is a
popular topic today, but Russia opposes a double standard on the
issue.
Cooperation between Russia and China in this area has concrete
content, he said.
The two sides have conducted joint military exercises against
terrorism within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, he said, adding similar exercises will be held in the
future.
Cao Gangchuan also answered questions at the press conference.
He said Ivanov visited China shortly after he was reappointed
as the Russian Minister of Defense, which reflected that the new
Russian government values its friendly relations with China.
Cao said that during his talks with Ivanov, the two sides highly
evaluated the strategic partnership of cooperation between the two
countries and both sides vowed to push forward bilateral relations
between the two countries and armed forces.
(Xinhua News Agency April 22, 2004)