Gates Meets with U.S. Allies at Asian Security Conference

Posted June 3rd, 2011 at 6:35 am (UTC-5)
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U.S. and Chinese defense chiefs said Friday that military relations between the two countries had made some progress and are moving in a positive direction.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and his Chinese counterpart, General Liang Guanglie made the statement Friday in Singapore, where they held talks ahead of the start of the Shangri-La Dialogue security conference.

This is Gates' fifth and final Asia Security Summit as U.S. defense secretary.

Delegates from 27 countries are attending the security conference, which runs through Sunday.

Earlier, Gates met with Japan's defense minister and Malaysia's prime minister. He also held talks with Singapore's Defense Minister Ng Eng, who joined Gates in voicing support for Washington's continued engagement in Asia and for its cooperation in addressing transnational security threats and enhancing regional security