US pushes stronger military ties with Mongolia to contain China and Russia
Iran Press TV
Thu Apr 10, 2014 1:22PM GMT
US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has landed in Mongolia to push stronger military ties with the Central Asian nation strategically located between China and Russia.
Hagel was the first US defense secretary to visit the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator on Thursday since Donald Rumsfeld's 2005 stopover in the landlocked nation that sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth.
'As one of the world's fastest growing economies, Mongolia has a growing stake in regional and global security,' the Pentagon chief said.
Hagel and his Mongolian counterpart Dashdemberel Bat-Erdene signed a 'joint vision' statement between the two nations that calls for expanding military cooperation through joint training and assistance.
The document is expected to anger China, which has accused Washington of attempting to contain its rise by developing military ties with smaller Asian neighbors.
'A strong US-Mongolia defense relationship is important as part of the American rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region,' Hagel told a joint press conference.
However, Bat-Erdene said that Mongolia will not host US bases.'We have a law not to establish foreign military bases or to station troops in our country."
Earlier, a senior US defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said in a statement, 'This statement is both a demonstration of the growth of the US-Mongolia relationship, having served side by side together with coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the rebalance to the Asia-Pacific where the United States is deepening cooperation with all of our allies and partners.'
Hagel's visit was followed a three-day swing through China that was marked by tensions between Beijing and Washington, with Hagel facing questions about America's position on China's territorial disputes with neighbors.
On his 10-day Asian tour, Hagel also spent two days in Japan, where he warned China against unilateral action to resolve territorial disputes with its neighbors, saying Beijing must use its 'great power' responsibly.
China and Japan have long been locked in a dispute for more than a decade over the sovereignty of uninhabited islands in the South China Sea -- what are called Diaoyu in China and Senkaku in Japan -- which are believed to have vast natural resources.
Although Washington has repeatedly said it would take no side on sovereignty of the disputed islands in the East China Sea, it officially recognizes Japan's administration of the islands and feels responsible to protect Japan's territory under a defense deal signed between the two countries.
AN/GJH
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