WASHINGTON - The militaries of the United States and China remain divided on serious issues such as arms sales to Taiwan, disputes over the South China Sea and US naval reconnaissance missions within what China considers its exclusive territory.

Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, US chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made the remarks Monday during a news conference in Washington at the Foreign Press Center.

He said the two militaries took a "healthy step" in their relations through discussions held between him and Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army, in May during Chen's visit to the US and in mid-July during Mullen's visit to China.

"I come away encouraged that we now have at least a basis for ongoing dialogue and some very tangible common challenges we can continue to work on together - things like piracy, terrorism, and disaster relief operations," he said.

He added that it was difficult for the two militaries to move past their differences because the two countries cannot find common ground on those issues.

Talking about the US' coming decision to sell arms to Taiwan on Oct 1, he argued that the US has a "legal responsibility" to Taiwan, although he said he didn't want the sales to disrupt the two countries' military-to-military relations.

"I think terminating that, even for brief periods of time now, can be - has a significant downside that works against stability in the region. So when we have another bump in the road, should that occur, I hope we can work our way through that with the Chinese military," he said.

When asked to comment on a report that two Chinese fighter jets recently intercepted a US spy plane, he said: "We both have to be very careful about how we fly them. We have to be careful about the intercepts."

"We have to make sure that we don't repeat what happened in 2001," he said, referring to an incident during which a Chinese fighter plane intercepted a US military reconnaissance plane above waters near China's coast. The incident caused the Chinese fighter plane to crash, killing the pilot.

The US does not recognize what China believes is its exclusive economic zone, maintaining that countries have the freedom to navigate the sea.

Although he said the US does not take sides in disputes over the South China Sea, he warned that escalating tensions "could put countries in a position to miscalculate".

During the news conference, he also stressed that the Asia-Pacific region is very important to US national security and the US will keep its commitment to the security in the region.

China Daily

(China Daily 07/26/2011 page1)