The commander of United States military forces in the Pacific and most of the Indian Ocean sounded a conciliatory note toward China on Sunday. He called for closer cooperation between the United States and Chinese militaries and an agreement about how to coordinate responses to natural disasters like the tsunami last Dec. 26.
While the United States and China have extensive political and economic contacts, “the military side of this thing has been lacking, and I think it’s time to change that,” said the American commander, Adm. William J. Fallon, at a news conference here.