Page 9 - Rethinking China Policy

Rethinking China Policy

In a rare bilateral exercise, the U.S. and China conducted anti-piracy training off the pirate-prone Gulf of Aden,
the Navy said in a Thursday statement.

The guided missile destroyer USS Sterett (DDG-104) joined at least two of People’s Liberation Army Navy ships
for the exercises that included visit, board, search, and seizure (VBSS) exercises, communication exchanges and
“various other aspects of naval operations,” read the statement from U.S. 5th Fleet.

“Approximately 700 personnel from the U.S. and China navies will participate in the exercise, and it gives Sterett
sailors the opportunity to engage in a shared mission with other surface platforms,” read the statement.

A Pentagon spokesman said the exercises included live fire drills, according to a report in Stars and Stripes.

“The exercise allows us to address our common regional and global interest,” said Capt. Doug Stuffle,
commander, U.S. Navy Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 1.

“It helps both nations pursue a healthy, stable, reliable and continuous bilateral relationship.”
Last year, the U.S. Navy and the PLAN conducted a first round of anti-piracy exercises between USS Mason
(DDG-87) and the Luhu-class destroyer Harbin and oiler Weishanhu.

Those exercises included VBSS training, live fire drills and a rare helicopter landings.

In September, China’s anti piracy force has also conducted similar drills with the Iranian Navy.

https://news.usni.org/2014/12/12/u-s-china-conduct-anti-piracy-exercise

Even the US Army has joined in the counter-terrorism effort with the PRC.
Closing ceremonies for the 10th Disaster Management Exchange, or DME, were held in Haikou on Hainan Island,
China, Jan. 18.

The 2015 DME is a U.S.-China humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exchange, which included an expert
academic discussion, or EAD, a tabletop exchange, or TTE and a practical field exchange, or PFE. The DME is
among the most substantive of U.S. military engagement activities with China.

“This long established exchange underscores the commitment of the U.S. and the People’s Republic of China to a
comprehensive and strong military-to-military relationship in order to address security cooperation and
humanitarian and disaster relief challenges across the region,” said Maj. Gen. Edward Dorman, commanding
general of 8th Theater Sustainment Command.

Sponsored by U.S. Army Pacific and hosted by China’s People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, the DME 2015 included
participants from the Hawaii Army National Guard, the U.S. Marine Corps, the U.S. Air Force and the State
Department.

https://www.army.mil/article/141698/Disaster_Management_Exchange_2015_concludes_in_China
Apparently, the skills learned in this “strengthened military-to military relations” are really paying off.

Among other things, the PLAN, has honed their skills in becoming pirates on their own.

Pentagon press operations director Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters that a Chinese Navy Dalang-III class
submarine rescue vessel launched a small boat and retrieved the UUV as the oceanographic survey ship USNS
Bowditch was attempting to retrieve it and a second UUV in the South China Sea.

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