Rumsfeld denies cutting military ties with China

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld talks to reporters on his U.S. Air Force jet en route to Kiev, Ukraine, on Monday

From Jamie McIntyre
CNN Military Affairs Correspondent

KIEV, Ukraine (CNN) -- Reacting to a published newspaper report, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld denied Monday that he has cut virtually all military ties with China.

In an April 30 memo, Rumsfeld ordered all military-to-military contact with China stopped, but later rescinded the order, claiming it was the result of an aide's misunderstanding.

What he had meant to say, the secretary said, was that he intended to review all contacts on a "case-by-case" basis.

In its Monday editions, The New York Times said that Rumsfeld was effectively following the spirit of the April 30 memo by disapproving nearly all U.S. military requests for contact with the Chinese.

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Speaking to reporters Monday while en route to Kiev, Ukraine, Rumsfeld disputed the suggestion that he is in effect using the case-by-case review to institute a blanket ban.

"I have been approving things as they have come along. Some of those things are down the road," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld acknowledged he has turned down many requests for contact with China, but said most came either while China was still holding the crew of an EP-3 surveillance plane, forced to land on Hainan Island after colliding with a Chinese jet on April 1, or later during negotiations for return of the plane.

The Chinese have agreed to return the plane to the United States, but it remains on Hainan Island while officials discuss the logistics of returning the badly damaged aircraft.

Rumsfeld indicated that he was more willing to approve some requests now, including port calls by U.S. ships, but said China also has been denying some requests.

"I will say that we had the USS Inchon request a port call in Hong Kong and it was declined, so suggesting that I declined that would not be correct. It was the Chinese who declined that," he said.