Japanese PM meets Mongolian president possibly over N. Korea abductions

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj on Wednesday, in an unscheduled meeting that suggests Japan has been asking for help from Mongolia to address the past abductions of Japanese citizens by North Korea.

Mongolia has diplomatic ties with North Korea, while the abductions by the country's agents in the 1970s and 1980s have prevented Japan and the North from normalizing bilateral relations.

"We discussed various issues," Abe told reporters after having lunch with Elbegdorj at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo, declining to comment in detail.

It is thought he may have asked for Mongolia's support as Japan has recently resumed intergovernmental talks with North Korea that are also aimed at addressing Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programs.

The meeting between Abe and Elbegdorj followed a similar event in September, when the premier invited the president to his private residence, leading to a secret meeting in Ulan Bator in March between the parents of one of abductees, Megumi Yokota, and her daughter who lives in North Korea.

==Kyodo

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Love transcends language barrier

CHARLOTTE SQUIRE/FAIRFAX NZ

LIFE IS GOOD: Sheep shearer Enkhnasan Chuluunbaatar (Nasa), with his son Tushinbayar Enkhnasan and wife Zoe Leetch in Golden Bay.

Love bloomed in a Mongolian desert for a Golden Bay woman. Now she and her husband are creating a new life in New Zealand. Charlotte Squire reports.

A Mongolian and Kiwi couple living in Golden Bay have literally created their own love language.

Golden Bay born Zoe Leetch met her future husband Enkhnasan Chuluunbaatar in 2008 on a Mongolian goldmine on the northern edge of the Gobi Desert. The pair, who then worked together on the mine, taught each other English and Mongolian, and eventually created their own unique language blend of the two languages.

These days they live in Golden Bay with their young son Tushinbayar Enkhnasan. Enkhnasan, who is commonly known as Nasa, is now a busy sheep shearer, who came second in the intermediate section of the Golden Bay A&P Show sheep shearing champs.

It took some time for Nasa, who grew up in a family of nomadic herders, to become a Kiwi sheep shearer.

Leetch, who had always had a curiosity about Mongolia thanks to movies such as The Weeping Camel, was working as an artist in Wellington when she was offered an administrative job on the goldmine by a friend of her father's at short notice. She had a weekend to mull it over, and decided she couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"I went over to work at the goldmine, to do admin at the gold site, which included keeping tracks of fuel records. Nasa's job, part of it, was refuelling machines," she said.

Leetch said she was a "a bit of a novelty there" as they'd never had a young Kiwi woman working at the goldmine before.

Nasa had seen foreign women before, but never talked to them. So he thought I would be different, not just a human like him, said Leetch.

On the first night she was there, three people woke up her future husband to tell him a woman with ears that stuck out had come to work at the mine. He eventually went to check out Zoe's ears.

The two ended up working together in the truck and the rest is (quite romantic) history.

Leetch was one of 30 people living at the mine in yurts together, three of whom were Kiwis.

She worked on the mine for four seasons, for seven months of the year. At the end of each season Leetch would go back to Nasa's home, a yurt, to spend time with his nomadic herder family, then she would head back to New Zealand. She says she spent longer and longer with his family.

They were married in 2011 in a Mongolia summer wedding that was attended by Nasa's family and Zoe's twin brother Pax.

Nasa's family were initially surprised that he had married a Kiwi woman, but Nasa said they came to know her and trust her. He said they felt that if their only son was happy, that was good.

If Nasa was in Mongolia he would be taking over the herd and looking after the family. It's a big thing for his father that Nasa is here, said Leetch.

Right from the start Leetch said she couldn't live in Mongolia long term, though short term it was OK.

"Luckily Nasa was happy to try here," Leetch said.

When the couple came to New Zealand they decided that as Nasa knew animals so well, shearing was something he could do.

In Mongolia herders shear with big scissor like blades, and all the farmers shear their own sheep. So Nasa had shorn his family's sheep, but not with the scale and technique of New Zealand, she said.

When he first came to New Zealand for a three month holiday Nasa learnt to shear from Leetch's father. He also checked out a Kiwi shearing shed and saw men wearing singlets and listening to loud music as they worked, "he thought it was was pretty neat", said Leetch.

At first it was hard to shear using the machine, with its vibrating hand piece and sharp blades, but Nasa said he felt good to see the sheep shorn.

After completing a beginners' shearing course in Christchurch, luckily for the couple, a position opened up in Golden Bay for Nasa to shear on a team, despite the fact that he knew very little English. "The other shearers that Nasa was working with would teach him things every day, and the farmers were really good. Everyone was amazing. They were just fantastic with this foreign guy coming in to learn," said Leetch.

Nasa's a pretty small guy, and to him some sheep in New Zealand are huge, she said.

"Sometimes it's like trying to shear a horse, they lift me up off the ground," said Nasa.

The following summer Zoe said one of the shearers damaged his back, meaning Nasa had to "step up".

He did another, more advanced shearing course in Christchurch.

Nasa says he's slowly getting better and better at shearing sheep. His numbers are improving. He's understanding the shearing better, rather than just doing what he's told. He says he really enjoys it.

Sometimes Nasa misses his Mongolian family, but he says it gets easier. On those days he goes fishing on the Takaka River mouth.

Zoe, Nasa and Tushinbayar went back to Mongolia last year for a visit and may one day return to live there for a short time.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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Rio’s Turquoise Hill Says Parties to Seek OT Funding Extension

Turquoise Hill Resources Ltd. (TRQ), the miner controlled by Rio Tinto Group, said all parties in the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia agreed to seek a funding extension for the underground expansion amid talks with the government.

Requests to extend the funding commitments to Sept. 30 will be sent to lenders, Kay Priestly, chief executive officer of Vancouver-based Turquoise Hill, said in statement yesterday.

Mongolia’s government and Rio Tinto have been in talks over disputes related to the mine including cost overruns and the financing conditions. Rio laid off 1,700 workers and put the underground tunneling on care and maintenance mode in August.

“All parties remain committed to the underground development of Oyu Tolgoi and to resolving the outstanding shareholder issues,” Turquoise Hill’s Priestly said. “Constructive discussions between all parties have resulted in significant progress being made in resolving the issues, and those discussions are continuing.”

Oyu Tolgoi is the largest single investment in the history of Mongolia, according to the project’s website. Rio controls the project through its 51 percent stake in Turquoise Hill Resources, which owns 66 percent of Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The Mongolian government holds the remaining 34 percent.

Source: Bloomberg

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Hagel, Mongolian Defense Minister Agree to Deepen Tie

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

ULAANBAATAR, Mongolia, April 11, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Defense Minister Dashdemberel Bat-Erdene signed a joint vision statement here yesterday designed to deepen a decade-long defense relationship built on shared interests and forged in combat as troops of both nations fought together in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and Mongolia Minister of Defense Dashdemberel Bat-Erdene sign a joint vision statement at the Ministry of Defense in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, April 10, 2014.DOD Photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Mongolia was the final stop of a 10-day Asia-Pacific trip -- Hagel’s fourth in less than 12 months -- that began in Hawaii with a meeting of defense ministers of the 10 member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, and continued in Japan, China and Mongolia.

When Hagel arrived at Ulaanbaatar’s Chinggis Khaan International Airport, among the U.S. Embassy and Mongolian Ministry of Defense officials there to greet him was a woman dressed in a traditional Mongolian garment -- one similar to Mongolian bridal designs used as the basis for costumes worn by Queen Padme Amidala in “Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace,” according to embassy officials.

On the ground, Hagel was presented with traditional welcoming gifts: a blue silk scarf and a silver bowl containing a Mongolian dairy product called aaruul, a dried fermented milk curd.

At the Ministry of Defense, Hagel was greeted by Bat-Erdene and reviewed the colorfully uniformed Mongolian Armed Forces Honor Guard before the two leaders sat down for a meeting and later signed the Joint Vision Statement for the U.S.-Mongolia Security Relationship.

The statement, Hagel said, “expresses our shared desire to continue deepening that defense relationship.”

At a joint press conference after the meeting, Hagel characterized Mongolia, which adopted democracy in 1990, as “a valued partner of the United States” and “a growing state in regional and global security.”

During the meeting with Bat-Erdene, Hagel told the press, “I commended the minister for significant contributions the Mongolian Armed Forces have made to security around the world through participation in many activities. These include United Nations Peacekeeping Operations and fighting alongside the United States in Afghan and Iraq.”

Over the past decade the two militaries have benefited from working together and learning from each other, the secretary added.

According to a U.S. official, the Defense Department provides about $1 million annually in International Military Education and Training, or IMET, funding for MAF troops. IMET graduates have led all 10 rotations to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Foreign Military Financing funds have been used to equip the Mongolian peacekeeping brigade with vehicles, communications equipment and personal equipment. That funding is about $2 million annually, the official said.

At the press conference Hagel said, “As Mongolia invests in defense modernization, the United States will continue to work with our Mongolian partners to include joint training and exercises. This would include increasing opportunities for Mongolia to observe and participate in multilateral exercises.”

The secretary said the defense leaders had also discussed opportunities for the forces to work even more closely together.

A current exercise in which the United States and Mongolia participate is Khaan Quest, one of the world’s largest training exercises focused on peacekeeping operations. A joint venture, Hagel said, is the Five Hills Training Center near Ulaanbaatar, established in 1983. The joint-training military site gives units large areas for field training and exercises and classroom settings for strategic planning lessons.

“We’ll continue to do more together regarding humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the secretary said, “and more joint training exercises that we discussed.”

Hagel added, “We in the United States believe that military-to-military cooperation between Mongolia and the United States is very solid, it is very strong, and we look forward to continuing to deepen and strengthen our military cooperation and relationship.”

A strong U.S.-Mongolia defense relationship is important to America’s rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region, the secretary noted, adding that he’s made that point during his current visit to the region and in discussions with Minister Bat-Erdene.

“I did share with the minister some of my reflections on this 10-day trip. I briefed him on all the stops I’ve made,” Hagel said. “I told him about the candid exchanges I’ve had at every stop, including my most recent stop in China, and I specifically mentioned the conversations I had in China regarding the regional security issue and China’s and America’s shared interest in putting our military-to-military relationship on stronger footing, which we think is good for the Asia-Pacific region.”

Hagel said he’d met with 13 Asia-Pacific defense ministers on the trip “and for all those discussions in this 10-day trip it’s clear to me that to preserve the region’s growth and dynamism and opportunities depends on 14 strong security relationships throughout the region, increasing cooperation in areas of common interest, and resolving disputes peacefully.”

Many challenges face all nations in the region today, he added, but also many opportunities.

“We must continue to work together to seize these opportunities as we all build a better future for all of our people,” the secretary said.

After the press conference, Hagel met with 26 Mongolian soldiers who have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan and for peacekeeping missions in Africa, including Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Chad. The secretary thanked them for their service and sacrifices.

Mongolia has about 350 troops in Afghanistan today and they are on their 10th rotation conducting security operations. They also had 10 rotations of troops in Iraq, a defense official said.

Hagel’s final stop in Ulaanbaatar was the Government House where he met with Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj.

Hagel’s visit was the first time in 10 years Mongolia’s defense minister and president have met with a U.S. defense secretary, a senior defense official said, and the visit was critical to Mongolia's "Third Neighbor Policy" of outreach to governments beyond China and Russia.

But before Hagel left to meet with the president he received one more traditional gift from the minister of defense -- a 9.5-year old Mongolian horse, small but sturdy with a reddish coat, led by a handler to the area where the secretary was visiting MAF troops.

Hagel beamed and announced that he was naming the horse Shamrock.

“The reason I’m naming him Shamrock,” Hagel told the smiling crowd, “is that shamrock was the mascot of a place I graduated from, St. Bonaventure School in Columbus, Neb.”

Before he left for his meeting with the president, Hagel admired the horse, thanked the minister, and posed with the horse, throwing his arm across Shamrock’s withers as he was told that he would receive letters about Shamrock’s activities and well-being since the secretary was unable to take the horse to the United States.

Later, in the military aircraft on the way home, the secretary showed the reporters traveling with him a large framed photograph of Hagel and Shamrock standing cozily together, Shamrock wearing a hackamore of leather and polished stones and metal tied with a blue silk scarf.

The secretary said he would send the framed photograph to St. Bonaventure for the school’s permanent collection of graduate memorabilia.

(Follow Cheryl Pellerin on Twitter: @PellerinAFPS)

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Online comment to US Ambassador's Op-Eds illustrates Mongolian position

As soon the Op-Eds of US Ambassador to Mongolia, Ms.Piper Campbell was published on Mongolian news portal www.sonin.mn, Mongolian online community engaged in heated debate about Mongolian position on Ukraine issues.

One of the comments stood out. This comment perfectly illustrated Mongolian position on Ukraine issue. 

"Dear Ambassador,

Russia is our forever neighbor. Mongolia is Russian a good friend and neighbor. It is critical and crucial for us to keep the wonderful relationship. We hope, we will understand it"

Some of the top Mongolian politicians expressed support for Russia.Minister of Industry and Agriculture Battulga Khaltmaa expressed his support for Russian actions through Russian media. 

Mongolian National Democratic Party, a minor political party led by former PM Enkhsaikhan Mendsaikhan considered Russian action in Crimea as legitimate through a public statement.

However, top officials of the government so far avoided making official statements on the Russian annexation of Crimea. 

Staff of MonInfo News Service 

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US Ambassador to Mongolia urges Mongolia to stay united for Ukraine

Op-ed by U.S. Ambassador Piper Campbell 
April 10, 2014 
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Since last November, the people of Ukraine have been striving to define their own future.  In the process, they have become a symbol of courage and peaceful change for the whole world. The international community remains united for Ukraine, respecting Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and giving its citizens the space and the support to help them determine how their country will be run and what their choices will be.

Last November in Kyiv, a small group gathered to tell their President that they wanted their voices heard.  He had made a political decision not to sign an Association Agreement with the European Union.  They disagreed, and they told him so publicly.  That public protest swelled to the tens of thousands.  Their voices rose up to protest more than a political decision.  Through the cold winter, citizens from the entire country stood together on the Maidan to urge an end to corruption in their country, more economic participation by hard-working citizens instead of shadowy secret business dealings, and true constitutional protections.

This is not just about Ukraine.  It is about basic principles that govern relations among nations in the 21st century.  As President Obama stated in Belgium on March 26, this is a “moment of testing for Europe and the United States, and for the international order that we have worked for generations to build.”  This order is based on a set of core principles that include respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity.  Just because Russia has a deep history with Ukraine does not mean it should be able to dictate Ukraine’s future.  On March 27, one hundred countries aligned in the U.N. General Assembly in support of the fundamental principles of the U.N. Charter, in support of Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and against Russia’s illegal actions.

Another important point: Political activism in Ukraine today, as on the Maidan through the winter, includes all nationalities and all religions that make up multi-ethnic Ukraine.  The people of Ukraine—Ukrainian, Russian, and Tatar speakers alike—have the right to determine their future as a sovereign and democratic nation. 

Social media gives us access to understand these opinions firsthand.  We need only to watch their videos, view their photographs or read their blogs, circulating the globe via a vibrant and open social media.  A free and unfettered Internet has given these Ukrainian voices a global reach, so that even here in Mongolia we can see and hear and read for ourselves what the citizens of Ukraine have been striving to achieve. 

The President, against whom the first small protest was organized, disappeared for seven days and eventually left his country.  The democratically-elected representatives of the people of Ukraine responded to fill the leadership vacuum created by Yanukovich’s cowardice, organizing a temporary, technocratic interim government and early, responsibly-organized elections.   In April that interim government will propose economic and political reforms that ensure a voice to each citizen of Ukraine.  In May, the population of Ukraine will elect a new president with a mandate to build the future Ukraine that all of its people want.

Meanwhile, in Crimea, Russia has torn down and discarded the international legal order and thrown away the very notion of the rule of law.  A forced, rushed, and illegal “referendum,” against the backdrop of a foreign military intervention, was used to justify a blatant land grab by a neighboring country.  That precedent cannot stand.  Crimea is Ukraine.  The border recognized in the Ukrainian constitution is the border of sovereign Ukraine.  The world has not been fooled into belief that a referendum engineered by Russia somehow justifies what is simply a land grab by force.  We do so not to keep Russia down, but because the principles that have meant so much to Europe and the world must be lifted up.  The United States, Mongolia, and the world, have an interest in a strong and responsible Russia, not a weak one.

In the coming weeks and months, from Kyiv to Washington to Ulaanbaatar, the world must continue to stand up for the rights of brave people everywhere who stand up to a corrupt and authoritarian leader.  The citizens of Ukraine have asked for our support as they come together to define their reforms and run their elections.  For the sake of a Europe whole, free and at peace, we all need to stand together, united for Ukraine.

Source:US Embassy in Mongolia

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Belarus ratifies visa abolition agreement with Mongolia

MINSK, 10 April (BelTA) – Belarusian MPs ratified the Belarus-Mongolia intergovernmental agreement on abolishing visas on 10 April, BelTA has learnt.

The agreement provides that the citizens of Belarus and Mongolia can enter, leave, pass through the other country in transit and temporarily stay there without visas for the period up to 90 days since the first entry. If Belarusian and Mongolian nationals want to stay in the other country for a longer period, they will need to obtain a visa in line with the existing legislation. 

The MPs ratified the Belarus-Bolivia intergovernmental agreement on abolishing visas for holders of diplomatic, service and official passports. Article 4 on long-term stay provides that nationals having valid passports and appointed members of diplomatic missions and international organizations located on the territory of the other country can enter and stay on the territory of the other country without visas during the whole accreditation period. The rule extends to their family members if they have the above-mentioned type of passports. 

The MPs also ratified the Belarus-Sri Lanka intergovernmental agreement on abolishing visas for holders of diplomatic and service passports. Belarusian and Sri Lankan nationals having valid diplomatic and service passports can enter, leave, pass through the other country in transit and temporarily stay there without visas for the period up to 30 days since the first entry. These passports should be valid for at least six months since the entry to the territory of the other state. This group of citizens can enter, stay, pass through the other country in transit and leave it via all international checkpoints. 

The MPs also ratified agreements on trade and economic cooperation with Bolivia and Sri Lanka.

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Mongolia Rejects US Military Bases

Ulan Bator, Apr 10 (Prensa Latina) Mongolia rejected the U.S. proposal to establish military bases in this Asian country in spite of an agreement to strengthen links in that sector. U.S. Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel and his Mongol peer, Dashdemberel Bat-Erdene, signed an agreement to expand military cooperation. The White House is trying to establish a counterweight in the region that can contain its Chinese and Russian rivals, by forging agreements with less large Asian nations, to which it offers support in matters of training and assistance. However, Bat-Erdene ruled out the possibility of hosting U.S. facilities. "We have a law that excludes the stationing of foreign troops in our country," Bat-Erdene insisted, after signing the bilateral agreement. Hagel's visit to Mongolia, the last stopover of his 10-day Asian tour, included visits to China and Japan. Nine years have passed since a U.S. Secretary of Defense visited Mongolia. Donald Rumsfeld was the last to come here. sc/sa/lch/ro/arc

Modificado el ( jueves, 10 de abril de 2014 )

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Hagel gets horse, moves to increase military ties with Mongolia as Asia trip wraps up

ULAN BATOR, Mongolia (AP) — After days of high-profile, pressure-filled meetings, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got to horse around a bit during a short stop in Mongolia on Thursday.

Article continues below

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, left, is presented with a horse as a gift by Mongolian Defense Minister Bat-Erdene Dashdemberel, right, at the Mongolian Ministry of Defense, Thursday, April 10,...   (Associated Press)

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, left, and Mongolian Defense Minister Bat-Erdene Dashdemberel attend a joint press conference at the Mongolian Ministry of Defense Thursday, April 10, 2014 in Ulan...   (Associated Press)

Accompanied by Mongolian Defense Minister Bat-Erdene Dashdemberel, left, U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, center, reviews a honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Mongolian Ministry of Defense...   (Associated Press)

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Following a time-honored tradition, Mongolian Defense Minister Bat-Erdene Dashdemberel presented Hagel with a buckskin-colored horse in a ceremony in front of that country's defense ministry. Hagel, who was wrapping up a 10-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region, named the horse Shamrock.

Tradition dictates the 9-year-old gelding be named after something of importance to the recipient, Hagel said. "Shamrock was the mascot of the high school that I graduated from, St. Bonaventure in Columbus, Neb.," he said. "It was one of the most important times of my life."

Shamrock will stay in Mongolia, where he has been serving in the cavalry's honor guard battalion. No one will ever ride the horse but Hagel, officials said.

"Now you be good while I'm gone," Hagel said as he patted the stocky horse.

Hagel is the second defense secretary in recent years to receive one of the Mongolian horses, which are bred for endurance. Then-Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld also got one when he visited Mongolia in October 2005. He named it Montana because the arid, mountainous landscape around the Mongolian capital reminded him of that state.

The gift to Hagel reflected the congenial tone of the day, as the secretary and Bat-Erdene signed an agreement that calls for expanding U.S. military training and exercises with Mongolia. The agreement signed by Hagel noted that Mongolia "serves as a stabilizing influence in Asia and is seeking to modernize its military in a transparent fashion."

Landlocked with 2.8 million people spread over an area twice the size of Texas, Mongolia is dwarfed by China, but also relies on the Asian nation for much of its economy. It has worked to maintain its independence from Beijing and Moscow by increasing its ties to other world powers, including the U.S. and Japan.

Mongolian troops have been a visible and frequent force in Iraq and Afghanistan, often providing security at U.S. facilities. There are about 10,000 active duty Mongolian troops, and to date 9,500 have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or another peacekeeping mission around the world.

All the commanders who led Mongolian troops during the Iraq and Afghanistan deployments went through U.S. training programs, the Pentagon said. The U.S. provides about $2 million in foreign military sales annually to Mongolia, and another $1 million in military education and training.

The Mongolia stop was brief and friendly as the two defense chiefs talked about how they want to improve Mongolia's peacekeeping efforts and its military's medical services. Hagel's meetings in China, however, were often sharper and controversy-tinged.

The U.S. has criticized Beijing's recent declaration of an air defense zone over a large swath of the East China Sea, including disputed remote islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China. Hagel and the Chinese leaders have delivered sharp exchanges on those issues, as well as Washington's continued close ties with Taiwan, at meetings and public events.

Beijing leaders meanwhile have asserted their right to protect and regain their territories using diplomacy and military action if necessary. And they have questioned U.S. claims that it remains neutral on the sovereignty of the disputed islands. The U.S. has also committed to protect Japan, which is a treaty ally.

On Wednesday, Hagel met with China President Xi Jinping in a session U.S. administration officials described as more positive than some of the sharper meetings earlier in the week with the defense minister and others.

At the start of the meeting, Xi, speaking through a translator, said Hagel's visit "will definitely push forward the development of our new model of military-to-military relationship."

Senior U.S. officials said the ongoing tensions with North Korea, including Pyongyang's threats to conduct additional missile launches and a nuclear test, were a key topic during the meeting.

Hagel stressed that China and the U.S. must work together, and both agreed that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was a priority, said the officials, who were not authorized to talk publicly about the private session so spoke on condition of anonymity.

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U.S. defence chief given horse during Mongolia visit

Ulan Bator has been keen to deepen relationships with what it calls "third neighbours" like the United States, though China still dominates Mongolia's economy.

World Bulletin/News Desk

U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel praised Mongolian troops and got a horse as a gift during a rare visit on Thursday to the landlocked nation strategically located between China and Russia that sits on vast quantities of untapped mineral wealth.

Hagel was the first U.S. defense secretary to visit Mongolia since Donald Rumsfeld stopped there in 2005. He noted the growing role the country has taken in international peacekeeping operations, including in Afghanistan, where it has 350 troops.

"As one of the world's fastest growing economies, Mongolia has a growing stake in regional and global security," he said.

Hagel was welcomed to the capital Ulan Bator according to custom, trying dried milk curd upon stepping off the plane at Chinggis Khaan International Airport, named after the country's warrior-emperor.

Guards in ceremonial costumes were standing at attention when his motorcade rolled into the defense ministry.

But the ceremonial highlight of the four-hour visit came when Hagel was a given a brown horse from an army cavalry unit as a present. The horse would stay behind to be cared for in Mongolia. Hagel was promised photo-updates every year.

"You be good while I'm gone," Hagel said at the end of the ceremony. He named the horse Shamrock, after his High School mascot in Nebraska.

Hagel also met Mongolian forces who served in peacekeeping roles, including a staff sergeant who was shot in his helmet in Iraq but survived. That helmet was now in the Mongolian Military museum. "I appreciate your sacrifice," Hagel told them.

Mongolia had about 10 rotations of troops in Iraq.

NEW DEMOCRACY

The United States has been keen to support newly-democratic Mongolia, which held its first free multi-party elections in 1990 after seven decades of communist rule.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden came to Mongolia in 2011, and in 2005 George W. Bush became the first U.S. president to visit.

Hagel's trip followed a three-day visit to China that exposed tensions over its territorial disputes with regional U.S. allies. U.S. officials said the visit, however, advanced Sino-U.S. military ties and ended with a positive meeting with President Xi Jinping.

Ulan Bator has been keen to deepen relationships with what it calls "third neighbours" like the United States, though China still dominates Mongolia's economy.

Hagel and his Mongolian counterpart Bat-Erdene Dashdemberel signed a joint statement that called Mongolia "a stabilising influence in Asia" and noted it was seeking to modernise its military in a transparent fashion.

Hagel said he spoke in Mongolia about the candid exchanges he had during his 10-day trip to the Asia-Pacific region, "including my most recent three days in China."

"And I specifically mentioned the conversations I had in China regarding regional security issues and China and America's shared interest in putting our military-military relationship on a stronger footing, which we think is good for the Asia-Pacific region," he said.

Tensions between China and the United States were on full display on Tuesday as Hagel faced questions about America's position in territorial disputes.

Still, Beijing made a rare opening to address that criticism by allowing Hagel to tour China's sole aircraft carrier. He was the first foreign defence official to do so, Beijing said.

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US Defense Secretary seeks to increase ties with Mongolia

ULAN BATOR, MONGOLIA — U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is seeking to bolster U.S. military relations with Mongolia as he wraps up 10-day trip to the Asia-Pacific.

Hagel's stop Thursday in Ulan Bator put him in between China and Russia, two global powers that the U.S. has been sparring with over territorial disputes involving U.S. allies. And it underscored a repeated message he delivered over the past 10 days urging nations to respect their neighbors and to resolve disagreements peacefully.

Arriving here after spending three days in China meeting with leaders, Hagel was expected to thank the fledgling Democratic nation for its contributions to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. He was to meet with Mongolian Defense Minister Bat-Erdene.

Mongolian troops have been a visible and frequent force in Iraq and Afghanistan, often providing security at U.S. facilities.

All the commanders who led Mongolian troops during the Iraq and Afghanistan deployments went through U.S. training programs, the Pentagon said. There are about 10,000 active duty Mongolian troops, and to date 9,500 have served in Iraq, Afghanistan or another peacekeeping mission around the world.

The U.S. provides about $2 billion in foreign military sales annually to Mongolia, and another $1 billion in military education and training.

Landlocked with 2.8 million people spread over an area twice the size of Texas, Mongolia is dwarfed by China, but also relies on the Asian nation for much of its economy. It has worked to maintain its independence from Beijing and Moscow by increasing its ties to other world powers, including the U.S. and Japan.

Hagel's visit was expected to be a bit warmer than his visit to China, where he spent much of his time talking about the need for increased openness by Beijing about its military growth and intentions.

The U.S. has criticized Beijing's recent declaration of an air defense zone over a large swath of the East China Sea, including disputed remote islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by China. And in meetings and public events, Hagel and the Chinese leaders delivered sharp exchanges on those issues, as well as Washington's continued close ties with Taiwan.

Beijing leaders, meanwhile, asserted their rights to protect and regain their territories, using both diplomacy and military action if necessary. And they questioned U.S. claims that it remains neutral on the sovereignty of the disputed islands, while still committed to protecting Japan, which is a treaty ally.

On Wednesday, Hagel met with China President Xi Jinping in a session that U.S. administration officials described as more positive than some of the sharper meetings earlier in the week with the defense minister and others.

At the start of the meeting, Xi, speaking through a translator, said Hagel's visit "will definitely push forward the development of our new model of military-to-military relationship."

Senior U.S. officials said the ongoing tensions with North Korea, including Pyongyang's threats to conduct additional missile launches and a nuclear test, were a key topic during the meeting.

Hagel stressed that China and the U.S. must work together, and both agreed that the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula was a priority, said the officials, who were not authorized to talk publicly about the private session so spoke on condition of anonymity.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2014/04/10/5095303/hagel-seeks-to-increase-ties-with.html#storylink=cpy

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