Mattis visits China amid Korea talks, strategic tensions

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EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, United States, June 25, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – US
Secretary of Defense James Mattis will make his first visit to China this
week amid rising tensions between the two countries but also a deep need for
Beijing’s support in nuclear talks with North Korea.

Mattis told reporters Sunday he wants to “take measure” of China’s
strategic ambitions after it positioned weaponry on disputed islets in the
South China Sea and is seeking to project its military power deep into the
Pacific.

But in a four-day trip that will also include South Korea and Japan, the
Pentagon chief also hopes to confirm China’s commitment to pressuring North
Korea to give up its nuclear weapons, after the historic talks between
President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Singapore in early June.

The United States, China, Japan and South Korea “have a common goal: the
complete, irreversible and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean
peninsula,” Mattis said.

In Beijing From Tuesday to Thursday, Mattis will meet with senior Chinese
defense officials. Then he will travel to Seoul for talks with his South
Korean counterpart Song Young-moo, followed by a stop Friday in Japan to see
defense chief Itsunori Onodera.

Those meetings are aimed at reassuring both allies that Washington’s
regional defense commitment remains unchanged after Trump unexpectedly
announced on June 12 that the US would suspend a major joint military
exercise in South Korea following his meeting with Kim.