Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will pay a visit to Beijing in October, Adm. William Fallon, head of US Pacific Command told reporters Wednesday. The Pentagon could soon invite Chinese military experts to observe exercises on the Korean Peninsula, Fallon added. Rumsfeld would be making his first trip to China, which he has accused of not being forthcoming on the scope of its broad military buildup.
U.S. Southern Command recently announced its first lethal strike on a suspected narco-trafficking vessel in two months, and the first under a newly formed permanent counter-cartel task force. The U.S. is also reportedly planning to transfer MQ-9 drones to Colombia to bolster its counter-cartel efforts.