WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Defense Secretary William Cohen has called off a visit to China next month amid rising tension with Beijing over nuclear spying and NATO's bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

"He (Cohen) did have tentative plans to go in June, and he has postponed any trip until some later date," Defense Department spokesman Ken Bacon told reporters.

Bacon said in response to questions that the main reason for the delay was that Cohen wanted to remain in Washington to help coordinate U.S. participation in NATO's bombing strikes on Yugoslavia.

"But also it probably is not the easiest time to visit China," Bacon said. "China, as you know, has broken off military-to-military relations temporarily with the United States and he feels that it may be better to go later."

Bacon said Cohen himself decided to call off the trip and to his knowledge, China had not objected to the tentatively scheduled visit.

Laser-guided bombs dropped by U.S. B-2 bombers hit the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade May 7, killing three Chinese journalists and injuring at least 20 other people.

The United States and NATO -- including President Clinton personally -- apologized repeatedly for the accident, saying the bombing was caused by the use of old maps and bad intelligence information.

But the attack sparked anti-U.S. demonstrations in China and sharp protests from Beijing, which suspended a U.S.-China military cooperation program.

The tensions have been heightened by Washington's charges that China has stolen important nuclear missile secrets from the United States. Beijing flatly denies such spying efforts.

"I think the primary reason for that (the delay) is that, right now, he (Cohen) feels that his place is here in Washington devoting as much time as possible to running the U.S. participation in the air campaign in Kosovo, preparing for the peacekeeping force," Bacon told reporters.

Cohen has postponed several foreign trips in recent months due to the Yugoslavia crisis. He was headed for Hong Kong and China late last year but turned around in mid-Pacific to return home and address the Iraq crisis.

"He remains, of course, steadfastly committed to engagement with China as a long-term policy," Bacon said.

The spokesman said the Chinese suspension of military-to- military ties with the United States was apparently not permanent and stressed that those ties were aimed at creating greater understanding between the two militaries.

Back to the top