China military ties with ASEAN no threat, U.S. says

PATTAYA, Thailand, May 10 (Reuters) China's bid for closer military ties with Southeast Asia is a ''positive overture'' and does not pose a threat to US interests in the region, a top US military commander said today.

''Our reaction to it is, we are going to reach out to China and engage with them. If they want to exercise together, I'm prepared to exercise right now,'' said Lieutenant-General John Goodman, commander of US Marine Corps Forces in the Pacific.

''I view it as an opportunity. It is change, but change needs to be viewed from a long-term perspective,'' he told foreign journalists in the Thai resort town of Pattaya where the annual Thai-US ''Cobra Gold'' war games began on Tuesday.

Nearly 5,000 military personnel, including 1,900 from the United States and smaller contingents from Singapore, Japan and Indonesia, are taking part in the largest multilateral exercise for US forces in the region.

However, Washington's allies fear it has been distracted by Iraq, Iran, the war on terror and North Korea, allowing China to raise its profile in the region quietly and be more assertive.

During a summit with leaders of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) last October, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called for greater cooperation on cross-border issues such as counter-terrorism, transnational crime, maritime security, rescue operations and disaster relief.

Those goals could equally apply to Cobra Gold which, over its 26 years, has evolved from an exclusively Thai-US exercise to include many other countries from the region.

China, which has sent observers to Cobra Gold, has proposed its own joint exercises with ASEAN, according to a report by Jane's Defence Weekly last month.

''Sources told Jane's that the Chinese proposal, which is still in an early stage, involves a joint naval drill,'' wrote Robert Karniol, Jane's Asia-Pacific editor.

Discussions began in early 2007 with an aim to hold the exercise in mid-2008, the report said.

''I think it's a positive overture. It helps move toward avoiding miscalculation,'' Goodman said, adding he would like to see US forces take part in a China-ASEAN exercise.

''Let's go out and let's exercise. Let's train together, let's get to know one another. Let's figure out who we are and how we can make this place a better place to live,'' he said.

Jane's said the Chinese proposal ''signals that Washington can expect heightened competition for influence in Southeast Asia''.

Goodman said: ''That is true, but it does not have to be a competition. That's the most important lesson we have to learn.'' However, he added the fact a third of the US Marine Corps' fighting force was based in the Pacific underscored the US commitment to the region.

''Some of them go to Iraq and Afghanistan. They come back.

This is our home and we are here for the long haul. The United States is an Asia-Pacific nation,'' he said.

REUTERS SS HS2140