China meets with 'enlarging circle of friends'

During a 55-hour period ending Sunday, 64-year-old Admiral General Sun Jianguo took part in a whirlwind of military diplomacy comprising 17 two-way meetings on the sidelines of the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

While the South China Sea was in the spotlight before and during the session, Sun, the deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department at China's Central Military Commission, told China Daily the meetings were productive.

"I'm very happy," Sun said. "The more meetings I participated in, the happier I was. Everyone was very friendly toward us and trusted us."

Both China's strong official ties and Sun's personal relations were self-evident during the meetings, in contrast to the "self-isolation" label US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter used to describe China during a plenary session speech on Saturday.

Typifying China's engagement, Sun exclaimed "My Friend!" on Friday as he hugged New Zealand Defense Minister Gerry Brownlee in front of photographers.

Amid the regional security climate and growing interest in China's role, China's meetings with key officials from Australia, Vietnam and the UK were so news worthy that foreign media representatives from third-party countries joined the press pool. Among them, a Japanese television reporter described the scene on camera when Vietnamese Deputy Minister of National Defense Nguyen Chi Vinh shook hands with Sun before they walked into a meeting room.

Sun's diplomacy was on show when he told Indonesia Defense Minister Ryamizard Ryacudu: "As you are more senior than me in age and higher than me in official rank, please speak first."

And he did not miss the opportunity to present China's story at the end of the meeting as he bade farewell to his counterparts by presenting them with books, including one with the title "What One Needs to Know about the South China Sea". The English language publication includes basic facts and was compiled by leading scholar Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, who also attended the dialogue.

Sun, who is a PLA Navy general, went from meeting to meeting in his white uniform at the Shangri-La Hotel where he talked with officials from seven Southeast Asian countries from among the 10 ASEAN member states.

Deputy defense minister Vinh said Vietnam would "warmly welcome" Chinese warships wanting to visit a recently opened harbor. And Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Tea Banh told Sun during their meeting on Saturday that Carter's "self-isolation" comment about China was "not correct".

"I believe the best way to resolve disputes is with the parties concerned embarking on peaceful means and achieving mutual understanding over relevant issues via dialogue," he added.