Pacific Fleet leader talks China
Concern about aggressive growth, behavior of Chinese military
The leader of the U.S. Pacific Fleet had strong words about the behavior of the rising Chinese Navy at a speech Monday in San Diego, where he also underscored the importance of future technologies by wearing Google Glass as a kind of teleprompter during his talk.
Adm. Harry Harris said he is concerned about a pattern of increasingly assertive behavior by the Chinese in the East and South China seas as the Chinese Navy grows.
He criticized China’s move in November to create an “air defense identification zone” over the East China Sea and the disputed Senkaku islands, which Japan and China both claim. The Chinese warned that any non-commercial flights over the zone would need to check in with China or face defensive measures.
“Our criticism … is less about its right to do so, but rather how they did it, in a unilateral attempt to change the status quo,” Harris said. “I also have concerns about the aggressive growth of the Chinese military (and) their lack of transparency.”
Harris spoke on the first day of the WEST 2014 conference, an annual three-day gathering of Navy and Marine Corps officials and defense-sector companies. Held at the San Diego Convention Center, the event is sponsored by the U.S. Naval Institute and the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association.
For the first time, China will participate this year in the U.S.-led Rim of the Pacific naval exercises, held in June and July off Hawaii.
That’s despite Harris’ concerns and a December near-miss when a Chinese warship cut off the San Diego-based cruiser Cowpens in the South China Sea. Chinese media reported that the Cowpens was spying on the China’s first fledgling aircraft carrier, the Liaoning.
Chinese ships will join in some of the exercises – though U.S. law passed in 2000 may restrict China’s involvement to non-combat training.
Speaking to reporters after his convention speech, Harris declined to give details on how many Chinese ships might attend or what they might do.
He described the upcoming exercises as a good shot at building goodwill, though said the Cowpens incident remains a concern because it shows the possibility of a miscalculation on the high seas.
“I’m worried about China, but I don’t want to make them into a new Soviet Union or have some Cold War with them,” Harris said. “We’re working this together and I believe the Pacific is big enough for all of us.”
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