Military-To-Military Confidence Building Measures and Cooperation with the People's Republic of China

The United States and China are central players in international security for the 21st century. Unfortunately, their current security relationship is one of suspicion and mis-understanding. The Sino-American military-to-military relationship will either be a catalyst, or a stumbling block, for improving global security in the future. This paper focuses on military-to-military confidence building measures and cooperation initiatives to improve bilateral and ultimately international security. Without effective confidence building measures to improve communication, transparency, and verification, the U.S-China security relationship will remain volatile and unpredictable. A systematic military-to-military cooperative agreement comprised of exercises and contingency operations will also assist in dissipating current misperceptions. These actions will strengthen U.S.-China security relations, improve U.S. national security, and ultimately benefit the entire international security community.