China, US Military Leaders Meet over US Warships in ‪‎South China Sea‬

Fan Changlong, Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission, met with the Commander of the United States Pacific Command Harry Harris in Beijing on Tuesday on the South China Sea issue.

Fan said during the meeting that over the years, China and the US have made significant progress in building new bilateral relations and military cooperation under the efforts of Chinese President Xi Jinping and his U.S. counterpart Barack Obama. However, the recent warships that the U.S. sent to enter waters near China’s Nansha Islands have provoked China’s strong dissatisfaction, he said.

Such an action, Fan said, posted threats to China's territorial sovereignty and security of islands. It may cause misunderstanding and misjudgment between the two sides and lead to unexpected results. He demanded that the US to immediately stop such wrongful and dangerous action. “The Chinese military will resolutely perform its mission to safeguard national sovereignty and security,” Fan added.

The Commander of the United States Pacific Command said that, although China and the US hold different opinions on certain areas, the cooperation and dialogue between the two countries are effective. Harris said he hoped that China and the US could deepen military cooperation, so to further push forward the development of China-US relations.

Sun Jianguo, China's Vice Chief of Staff of the PLA, also attended the meeting, together with the US Ambassador to China Max Baucus.