BEIJING - The mainland agreed on Wednesday to discuss the issue of military security and mutual trust across the Taiwan Straits.

"We maintain that (both sides) can contact and make exchanges on military issues and discuss the establishment of military security and a mutual trust mechanism at a proper time," Yang Yi, spokesman of the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, told a press conference.

"Related work should be done step by step, starting from the easy ones."

Yang made the remarks one day after Taiwan raised two "preconditions" for the discussion.

On Tuesday, Wu Den-yih, head of Taiwan's "executive yuan", said two premises should be guaranteed before both sides enter negotiations, referring to "guaranteeing Taiwan safety" and "step by step negotiation".

Yang said the exchange of retired servicemen, as well as relevant experts and scholars, would be a good way to begin the work.

The symposium held by the mainland and Taiwan on 60 years of cross-Straits relations in Taipei in November 2009 was a good start, Yang said.

The event was attended by more than 110 scholars from the two sides, and touched upon a string of issues covering politics, the economy, culture and military affairs.

Major General Luo Yuan, a senior researcher with the Academy of Military Sciences of the People's Liberation Army, told China Daily on Wednesday that since cross-Straits relations experienced major progress last year and are enjoying good momentum and peaceful development, servicemen from both sides should seize the opportunity to adopt a broad view of this issue.

"Opportunity knocks but once," he said.

"Both sides can cooperate in safeguarding the common heritage and territory handed down by our ancestors," he added.

However, Taiwan's "deputy defense minister", Andrew Yang, told Reuters that Taiwan would not pursue military talks anytime soon, since it is focused on a free trade-style deal and building more overall trust with Beijing.

Military talks are unlikely next year as the island ramps up for the 2012 "presidential" elections, he added.

At the press conference, Yang also said the mainland and Taiwan should work together toward the goal of signing the cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) as soon as possible.

In response to a question on whether the pact will be signed in June, Yang said the two sides should work together "towards this target."

But exactly when the pact would be signed depends on the progress of talks between the two sides, he said.

Experts from the two sides held the first round of talks in Beijing on Jan 26 to prepare for formal discussions on the ECFA between the mainland's Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits and Taiwan's Straits Exchange Foundation.

The two sides are still discussing the date of the second round of expert discussions, Yang said.

Premier Wen Jiabao told a press conference on March 14 that the negotiation and signing of the ECFA should be based on equal consultation and mutual benefit, and should take the concerns of both sides into account.

Xinhua contributed to the story

(China Daily 03/18/2010 page3)