In conversations on sidelines, some suggest US 'self-isolation' tag doesn't fit

During a 55-hour period ending Sunday, 64-year-old Admiral Sun Jianguo took part in a whirlwind of military diplomacy comprising 17 two-way meetings on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

While the South China Sea was in the spotlight before and during the session, Sun, deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China's Central Military Commission, told China Daily the meetings were productive.

"I'm very happy," Sun said. "The more meetings I participated in, the happier I was. Everyone was very friendly toward us and trusted us."

Both China's strong official ties and Sun's personal relations were self-evident during the meetings, in contrast with the "self-isolation" label US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used to describe China during a plenary session speech on Saturday.

Sun exclaimed "My Friend!" on Friday as he hugged New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee in front of photographers.

With growing interest in China's role in regional security, the meetings of key officials from Australia, Vietnam and the UK were so newsworthy that foreign media representatives from third-party countries joined the press pool. A Japanese television reporter described the scene on camera when Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh shook hands with Sun before they walked into a meeting room.

Sun's diplomacy was on display when he told Indonesia Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu: "As you are more senior than me in age and higher than me in official rank, please speak first."

Nor did he miss the opportunity to present China's story at the end of the meeting as he bade farewell to his counterparts by presenting them with books, including one with the title What One Needs to Know about the South China Sea. The English language publication includes basic facts and was compiled by leading Chinese scholar Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, who also attended the dialogue.

Sun, a senior Navy officer, went from meeting to meeting in his white uniform at the Shangri-La Hotel, where he talked with officials from seven Southeast Asian countries that are among the 10 ASEAN member states.

Vietnam positive

Vinh said Vietnam would "warmly welcome" Chinese warships wanting to visit a recently opened harbor. And Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh told Sun during their meeting on Saturday that Carter's "self-isolation" comment about China was "not correct".

"I believe the best way to resolve disputes is with the parties concerned using peaceful means and achieving mutual understanding over relevant issues via dialogue," he added.

Ryacudu, the Indonesian defense minister, told China Daily that "it is imperative to find a solution in the South China Sea" as almost 50 percent of global trade passes through the area, including 30 percent of the world's oil.

On the subject of political solutions, Ryacudu said all parties should respect documents such as the UN charter.

Lu Yin, an associate researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies at China's National Defense University, said Sun's intensive two-way contacts proved that China is not engaging in "self-isolation" but has "an enlarging circle of friends".

"It is routine for countries like China and the US to treat the dialogue as a platform for boosting understanding and to make timely liaisons. ... When countries have trouble understanding China's intentions behind its growth, China should take the dialogue as a chance to make its ideas heard and show self-confidence," Lu added.

The outcomes were not only about easing tension in the South China Sea. During the sessions on Saturday, China and France agreed to strengthen intelligence cooperation in fighting terror.

'Strong willingness'

Guan Youfei, a senior PLA official in charge of military diplomacy and a witness at Sun's meetings, told China Daily that "a strong willingness to boost two-way cooperation was part of the responses made by all the parties involved in the meetings, a fact that runs contrary to what Carter has called self-isolation.

"They were also ready to peacefully resolve various disputes through peaceful means," said Guan, director of the Office for International Military Cooperation at the Central Military Commission.

As Asia is still faced with a lot of issues and emerging security challenges, such as terrorism and natural disasters, "a consensus was shared among the parties that we need to join hands to make efforts", Guan said.

Brownlee, New Zealand's defense minister, said: "China has been engaged with a lot of countries very productively, and it has also been engaged with us - New Zealand. And we appreciate its engagement."

zhangyunbi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily USA 06/06/2016 page5)