China, Thailand pledge closer military ties

China and Thailand agreed here Friday that the two sides would work together to continuously strengthen their military ties.

Meeting with Thai Defense Minister Sukumpol Suwanatat, Jing Zhiyuan, member of China's Central Military Commission, hailed the developments of friendly military ties between the two countries in recent years

He said the armed forces of the two countries have conducted mutually beneficial exchanges in the forms of high-level visits, security consultations, joint training, personnel training, academic exchanges, and disaster relief.

"China is willing to join hands with Thailand to deepen the friendly ties and pragmatic cooperation. The continuous enhancement of military relations will push forward the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries," said Jing, who is also commander of the Second Artillery Force of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

On his part, Sukumpol spoke highly of the widely-shared concept of "Thailand and China are of one family," characterized by the mutual respect, trust and support between the two nations.

"Thailand highly values its friendly relations with China and is willing to increase the exchanges and cooperation between the two military forces at various levels," he added.

As guest of the Thai military, Jing arrived here Thursday for an official good-will visit.