[NEWS] With an eye on Russia, China and a horse, Pentagon chief visits Mongolia – Loganspace AI

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[NEWS] With an eye on Russia, China and a horse, Pentagon chief visits Mongolia – Loganspace AI


ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ticket Esper met senior Mongolian leaders on Thursday in a rare search recommendation from to the strategically crucial nation because the Pentagon seeks to implement its strategy of focusing on countering China and Russia.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ticket Esper is gifted a horse in Ulan Bator, Mongolia August 8, 2019. REUTERS/Idrees Ali

On a contrivance, Mongolia, locked between Russia and China, easiest represents the Pentagon’s priorities over the arrival decades.

“It’s my deep privilege to be right here, to be with you and to possess the opportunity to glance at various ideas we can additional enhance the ties between our two countries,” Esper said sooner than the originate of his assembly alongside with his Mongolian counterpart.

The ceremonial spotlight of the search recommendation from changed into once when Esper changed into once given a seven-yr dilapidated caramel colored horse as a contemporary. Esper named the horse Marshall after feeble U.S. Defense Secretary Weird and wonderful George Marshall.

“He’s cheerful, he likes his identify,” Esper, standing next to the horse, said.

The horse will place at the aid of to be cared for in Mongolia, though Esper changed into once given a framed record of the it. Esper, in return, gave the caretaker a blanket for the horse which is frail by the U.S. Military Damaged-down Guard.

Esper’s search recommendation from to Mongolia, on his first global day out since being confirmed as protection secretary, highlights the importance the country is seen as playing within the state.

Here’s the principle search recommendation from to the country by a protection secretary since 2014, when Chuck Hagel spent about four hours there. Esper spent an night time within the capital, Ulaanbaatar.

Mongolia is fervent for investment from the US and other countries it considers “third neighbors” to lend a hand it gash its financial dependence on China, whereby most of its exports of cashmere and other items switch.

Boring final month, Mongolian President Battulga Khaltmaa visited Washington to meet with President Donald Trump.

“They’ve been a accurate ally that punches above its weight, and I possess Secretary Esper needs to acknowledge (that) and undercover agent if there are ideas to develop the partnership additional,” said a senior U.S. protection decent, talking on the situation of anonymity.

The decent said that while nowadays out changed into once no longer about promoting any specific initiative, the US is fervent to glance at growing ties, potentially in areas be pleased protection drive coaching, which might maybe well well maybe lift excellent thing about Mongolia’s icy climate.

REGIONAL IMPORTANCE

Esper’s day out to Mongolia comes at an especially disturbing time in family members between the US and China, which is seemingly to be locked into an escalating trade battle.

Last yr, the U.S. protection drive build countering China and Russia at the guts of a brand unusual national protection strategy, transferring priorities after higher than a decade and a half of of focusing on the fight against Islamist militants.

Mongolia has been a fixed U.S. protection drive partner, providing troops to U.S.-led missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, the place it mute has about 200 troops.

It also has a relationship with North Korea, one thing Washington might maybe well well maybe leverage as Trump seeks to revive stalled denuclearization talks with Pyongyang. The country is within the marketplace by rail from North Korea.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ticket Esper is gifted a horse in Ulan Bator, Mongolia August 8, 2019. REUTERS/Idrees Ali

“Mongolia is not any longer going to aspect completely with any one against any one,” said Abraham Denmark, a feeble U.S. deputy assistant secretary of protection for East Asia.

“However they’re seeking to bolster their relationships with the US attributable to presumably they want American financial engagement and political engagement, but additionally attributable to it offers them fairly more breathing problem in their family members with Beijing and Moscow,” Denmark said.

(This model of the story corrects identify of Mongolian capital in dateline, paragraph 8)

Reporting by Idrees Ali; improving by Jonathan Oatis

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