NATO's FUTURE DISCUSSED AT CHIEFS OF DEFENSE MEETING

FROM:  DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Military Chiefs Look to NATO’s Future
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT, Jan. 23, 2014 – The NATO chiefs of defense “talked a little bit about today, a little bit about tomorrow, and a little bit about 10 years from now,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said as he returned to Washington today from alliance meetings in Brussels.
Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey took advantage of the 170th Chiefs of Defense Meeting to not only address NATO issues, but to strengthen military-to-military relations with other nations.

The chairman’s first engagement in Brussels was a meeting with his Russian counterpart Gen. Valery V. Gerasimov. Dempsey said the session was very positive and constructive, describing U.S.- Russian relations as important “not just because of the issues that are apparent to us, but the ones that are not yet apparent,” he said. The alliance’s possible future in Afghanistan after its current mission ends this year was also discussed. At the NATO meeting itself, he said, “We reminded ourselves that while the discussions are going on about our 2015 presence, we still have some tasks at hand to accomplish,” he said.

The chiefs looked at ways to increase the pace of development of the Afghan national security forces – focusing on how to improve the institutions that build and manage them. And, they discussed what can be done to help Afghans hold a credible, transparent and fair presidential election in April.

Most of the NATO support will be peripheral, as the Afghans have the lion’s share of conducting the vote. The United States will provide some logistical support and transportation for election observers.

The chiefs also discussed how they can “preserve our options so when the political decision is made on 2015 and beyond, we’ll have a pretty clear understanding of how we will have to shift to accomplish it.”

The other main outcome of the meeting was an increased awareness of the threats and risks building on the alliance’s southern flank. The United States has long spoken about transnational threats emanating from North Africa and the Middle East. Terrorist organizations take advantage of weak governments or ungoverned spaces and use them as safe havens, Dempsey said. Al-Qaida in the Islamic Mahgreb is one of these groups and there are others.

“I am encouraged that the alliance is beginning to understand some of the risks that are building on its southern flank,” the chairman said. “Now we have reached the point of entering into conversations about what as an alliance we might do about it.”

The chiefs spoke about NATO’s nascent cyber defense capability. “It’s mostly all national level,” he said. “We’re trying to find ways to link it together to make ourselves more capable in the cyber dimension.”

The meeting in Brussels will be followed by a NATO defense ministers’ meeting next month, which will help set up a NATO Summit that will be hosted by the United Kingdom later this year.

U.S.-CHINA MILITARY-TO-MILITARY RELATIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT
Readout of the U.S.-China Defense Consultative Talks
Pentagon Press Secretary George Little provided the following readout:


Officials from the United States and China met Sept. 9, 2013 in Beijing for the 14th annual Defense Consultative Talks. Dr. James Miller, undersecretary of defense for policy, and Lt. Gen. Wang Guanzhong, deputy chief of the People's Liberation Army General Staff, led their respective country's delegations. The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Joint Staff, U.S. Pacific Command, the National Security Staff and the State Department.



Miller and Wang underscored the accomplishments that the U.S.-China military-to-military relationship has achieved thus far this year. They discussed how to sustain the positive momentum in building a constructive military relationship and advance a new model of military-to-military relations into the future. In this regard, the two agreed to further the exploration of the two proposals on military confidence building offered by President Xi at Sunnylands.



The two leaders discussed how to enhance strategic trust and build upon opportunities to expand cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, peacekeeping, and maritime safety. They also discussed ways to enhance communications to improve understanding and avoid misperception. Both agreed to continue discussions between maritime legal experts, and sustain dialogue in key strategic areas including nuclear, missile defense, space, and cyber.



The two sides also exchanged views on the East and South China Sea. On North Korea, Miller emphasized the significant concerns of the United States regarding North Korea's nuclear and missile developments and called on China to maintain and increase pressure on North Korea to bring the regime back to credible and authentic negotiations aimed at denuclearization.