BEIJING - China and the Republic of Korea (ROK) agreed on Wednesday to further strengthen defense cooperation to maintain peace and stability in the region, as the two countries held their first defense strategic dialogue in Seoul.
At the vice-ministerial-level meeting, Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Ma Xiaotian held talks with ROK Vice-Minister of Defense Lee Yong-gul on security issues, including the defense strategic dialogue mechanism and the regional security situation.
Promoting friendship and cooperation is in line with the core interests of both nations, Ma said.
Defense-related exchanges and cooperation between the two neighbors contribute not only to the sound development of bilateral ties but also to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, he added.
Lee said the ROK government and military attach great importance to the development of friendly ties with China.
The ROK military is willing to make continuous efforts to strengthen exchanges with China at all levels, in order to deepen the two militaries' ties and make its due contribution to peace and stability on the peninsula and in the region, Lee said.
The meeting came after the defense ministers of the two countries agreed in Beijing earlier this month to launch an annual strategic dialogue to enhance their defense ties.
Ma arrived in Seoul earlier in the day, after a trip to Tokyo for the ninth bilateral vice-ministerial defense dialogue with Japan's vice-minister of defense.
"We hope there will be more frequent dialogues and talks in the fields of military and security issues, and the two sides work together to realize peace on the Korean Peninsula, which is our common hope," Lee Kyu-hyung, ROK ambassador to China, told China Daily.
Meanwhile, he noted that developing its relationship with China would not hurt the ROK's alliance with the United States.
Su Hao, director of the Asia-Pacific Research Center at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, said it is necessary and beneficial for both China and the ROK to build such a mechanism of high-level military talks.
He said that although China and the ROK have very close ties, military exchanges between the two countries did not reflect this.
"I am optimistic about the prospects for this mechanism, and both sides should make full use of it to strengthen communication," Su said.
China has been very active recently in military diplomacy, with the visit of Chen Bingde, chief of the General Staff of the PLA, to the United States in May, and US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mike Mullen's return visit to China this month.
Chen will make official goodwill visits to Russia, Ukraine and Israel from Aug 3 to 18, which Ministry of National Defense spokesman Geng Yansheng said would be important for China's military diplomacy this year.
Xinhua and Qin Zhongwei contributed to this story.
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