PACOM COMMANDER FALLON'S DISCUSSION WITH PLA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 009010

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

NSC FOR WILDER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/14/2016
TAGS: PREL PINS MOPS CH TN KN JP
SUBJECT: PACOM COMMANDER FALLON'S DISCUSSION WITH PLA
DEPUTY CHIEF OF GENERAL STAFF GENERAL GE ZHENFENG

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Daniel
Shields. Reasons 1.4 (b/d).

Summary
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1. (C) President Hu discussed with President Bush the
need for the United States and China to view their
bilateral relationship from a strategic level with a
long-term perspective, PLA Deputy Chief of the General
Staff General Ge Zhenfeng told PACOM Commander Admiral
Fallon during a May 10 meeting. Beijing is pleased by
the developing momentum in China-U.S. military
relations, hopes to expand the scope of future
exchanges and places great importace on General Guo
Boxiong's upcoming visit tothe United States.
Admiral Fallon urged China to participate more
productively in the Military Maritime Consultative
Agreement framework (MMCA) to achieve operational
results. He invited the PLA to observe a U.S.
exercise planned for June in and around Guam, saying
the invitation demonstrates U.S. intention to be open
and transparent. Ge outlined the PLA's current
modernization drive, highlighting six focu areas.
Predictably, he raised Taiwan as the ost sensitive
issue in the bilateral relationship and said the PRC's
position is "clear-cut, consistent and firm." Admiral
Fallon stated that the U.S. position on Taiwan is
equally clear and well understood. End Summary.

Military-to-Military Exchanges
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2. (C) Visiting Commander of U.S. Pacific Command
(PACOM),Admiral William Fallon met May 10 with PLA
Deputy Chief of the General Staff Ge Zhenfeng at PLA
Headquarters in Beijing. General Ge characterized
President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington as a success
that allowed for an in-depth exchange of views with
President Bush. The two countries' leaders view their
bilateral relationship from a strategic, long-term
perspective. In keeping with this direction, Ge
continued, both militaries should work to expand and
institutionalize their exchanges. Pointing to recent
educational exchanges, port calls, cooperation in
counterterrorism and non-traditional security areas,
as well as disaster management, Ge said that he is
pleased by the developing momentum in U.S.-China
military relations. Beijing places great importance
on Central Military Commission Vice Chairman General
Guo Boxiong's July visit to the United States and Ge
noted his own anticipation for his upcoming visit to
Hawaii. Admiral Fallon responded that while high-
level visits are very useful, the two countries must
extend their military exchanges down to younger
officers and to officers from operational units
serving in the field. This will help people with
similar interests but different backgrounds to better
understand each other. Ge agreed, saying it would be
reasonable to expand the scope of future exchanges to
include younger officers.

Need More Details and a Framework
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3. (C) Admiral Fallon stated that as China's military
capabilities grow there are more opportunities for the
U.S. and Chinese militaries to engage each other.
Using the 2001 EP-3 incident as an example, Fallon
encouraged the PLA to work in the spirit of the U.S.-
China Military Maritime Consultative Agreement
framework (MMCA). Fallon said that now is the time to
work out a framework for how to handle such encounters
so that operational commanders understand what each
side must do in a particular situation. This will
prevent accidents and build confidence. Ge agreed that
the United States and China should not only talk about
"big picture" issues but also discuss details.

Invitation to Observe Exercise
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4. (C) Admiral Fallon stressed the importance of
building confidence through open engagement and
transparency. He invited the PLA to send
representatives to observe an upcoming U.S. joint

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military exercise in the Pacific. Noting that other
countries in the region are also being invited to
observe, Admiral Fallon stressed that this invitation
shows that the United States is open about our
intentions in the region. Ge agreed that it is
important and useful to observe each other's regional
military exercises. He tried to justify the PLA's
failure to invite the U.S. to observe last year's
exercise with Russia using the argument that because
this was the first such exercise, both sides agreed
that only a few members of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization should be invited to observe.

Current State of PLA Modernization
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5. (C) Ge began a lengthy monologue in which he
described China's military strategy as a "positive
defense," which he defined as possessing a self-
defense capability that would allow for a "prevailing
action." The PLA relies on its own equipment,
weaponry and long martial tradition to defend China's
territorial integrity and sovereignty. To achieve
this strategy, the PLA is focusing on improvements in
six specific areas. First, the PLA is pressing ahead
with the revolution in military affairs (RMA) but with
"Chinese characteristics." Ge said that while the
quality of the PLA's weaponry is not yet
"satisfactory," the PLA recognizes the need to
modernize its information infrastructure and
capabilities, often referred to as
"informationalization." Ge said that the PLA's
informationalization will then drive the PLA's
mechanization. Second, the PLA is striving to enhance
its military readiness, an issue that has received
much attention from the PRC's highest levels. The
PLA's objective is to be prepared to win a regional
war under the most difficult scenarios and with
multiple threats. Third, the PLA is encouraging the
integration of its services. Fourth, the PLA is
encouraging the independent development of science and
technology and hopes to be able to "leap frog"
development stages to increase military fighting
capabilities. Fifth, the PLA will continue the
program it implemented in 2003 to build a talented
core of people. Ge described this effort as a
"strategic project to improve the quality of five
corps of people: commanders, staff, scientists,
technical specialists and NCO's." Sixth, the PLA is
enhancing its efforts to run the military according to
law. The PLA is attempting to instill loyalty, valor
and discipline in the troops by adhering strictly to
newly promulgated rules and regulations in order to
improve their battlefield effectiveness, Ge said.

Taiwan Policy Clear-Cut, Consistent and Firm
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6. (C) Ge cautioned Admiral Fallon that the Taiwan
issue remains the most sensitive issue in the
bilateral relationship, stating that Beijing's
position on Taiwan is "always clear-cut, consistent
and firm." Summing up the policy, Ge said Beijing
adheres to the "One-China policy" and to the principle
of peaceful reunification, places hope in the people
on Taiwan and opposes Taiwan independence. Admiral
Fallon responded that the United States position on
the Taiwan issue is also very clear and objective.
The United States expects the people of China and
Taiwan to resolve their differences without conflict
and will base its policies and actions on that goal.

Participants
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7. (U) U.S. Participants:

Admiral William J. Fallon, Commander, United States
Pacific Command
Ambassador Clark T. Randt, Jr.
Ravic Huso, Political Advisor, Department of State,
United States Pacific Command
Brig. Gen. Ralph Jodice, Defense Attache
COL Bob Brown, Executive Assistant, United States
Pacific Command
Lt COL Sesh Munipalli, Special Assistant to the

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Commander, United States Pacific Command
CAPT Kevin Ketchmark, Navy Attache
MAJ Roger Cavazos, China desk officer, United States
Pacific Command
Embassy Poloff, Notetaker


8. (U) PRC Participants:

General Ge Zhenfeng, Deputy Chief of the General Staff
Senior Colonel Li Ji
LTC Dong Xilin
COL Huang Xuepin
CAPT Cheng Kai
MGEN Qian Lihua


9. (U) Admiral Fallon has cleared this cable.
RANDT