This was the third time that Defense Minister Chang and Secretary Hagel have met since they each took office.
This week, Secretary Hagel made a visit to China’s National Defense University. He spoke about the need for openness as a way to avoid misunderstandings. One officer accused the United States of taking sides in Asia as a way to incite tensions and block the rise of China’s military. The United States denies it wants to contain China.
Jonathan Pollack is with the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based research group. He says U.S. officials have taken a somewhat harder line in how they deal with issues of importance to Asia.
Secretary Hagel ended his 10-day trip to Asia with a visit to China’s neighbor, Mongolia. He signed a new deal to provide more military training and assistance to Mongolia. The U.S. currently provides about $3 million in military sales and training to the country.
Other nations have strengthened military ties with the United States. This has led China to criticize the U.S. for seeking to contain its rise. But observers say relations between the sides have improved over the past year or so. The two militaries have held several joint exercises since last year.
And that’s In The News from VOA Learning English.
I’m Steve Ember.