China, Greece to strengthen military ties

Beijing, July 8 (IANS) China and Greece Monday decided to enhance cooperation between their armed forces, Xinhua reported.

China is willing to work with Greece to promote the development of military-to-military ties in multiple areas and levels, said Vice Chairman of China's Central Military Commission Fan Changlong while meeting Mikhail Kostarakos, the chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff, Greece.

The two sides also spoke highly of the 42-year-old diplomatic relations between their nations, saying that the military cooperation has achieved a lot.

Prior to the meeting with Fan, Kostarakos held talks with Chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Fang Fenghui.

Stressing that China attaches great importance to the military ties with Greece, Fang said China is ready to strengthen strategic communication, deepen exchanges on personnel training and conduct joint maritime exercises in the hope of pushing forward the military cooperation.

Kostarakos, who was visiting China for the first time, said his visit aimed to lift military ties to a new height.

The Greek armed forces would like to make joint efforts with the Chinese side to enhance personnel training, the fight against pirates and safeguard the security of maritime traffic lines, Kostarakos added.