Friday, February 6, 2015

WORLD NEWS Pentagon Rules Out Aircraft Carrier Visit to China


The Wall Street Journal
WORLD NEWS

Pentagon Rules Out Aircraft Carrier Visit to China

U.S. Official Cites Concerns Over China’s Actions in the Pacific

The U.S. said it won’t send an aircraft carrier to visit China this year as previously proposed under part of a plant to expand defense ties.ENLARGE
The U.S. said it won’t send an aircraft carrier to visit China this year as previously proposed under part of a plant to expand defense ties. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES
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The Pentagon announced Friday it wouldn’t send an aircraft carrier to visit China this year, in a move a U.S. official said is intended to persuade China to seek diplomatic solutions to territorial disputes.

Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said U.S. and Chinese officials met Thursday to discuss military exchanges over the coming year to build on previous efforts, but said the U.S. has ruled out a visit to China by a U.S. carrier. 

Officials had previously proposed the U.S. send an aircraft carrier to visit China as part of the effort to expand defense ties between the two countries, but Pentagon officials last week deferred a decision on the carrier visit while awaiting progress in U.S.-China talks on other agreements, including one designed to reduce the risk of midair collisions between military aircraft.

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A defense official said the Pentagon had decided against such a visit because of concerns with China’s actions in the Pacific. Tensions in the region have mounted in recent years as Chinese ships and planes have repeatedly confronted vessels from neighboring countries in disputed areas of the South China Sea and in the East China Sea.

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The official said blocking the carrier visit should be a sign to China that it needs to more actively seek diplomatic solutions to territorial disputes in the region.

“We are looking at China’s assertive and disruptive behavior in the South and East China Seas, and believe that a carrier visit to China is just not something we want to do,” an official said.

China’s defense ministry and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The decision came after Republican lawmakers raised concern over the proposed visit, which had been supported by both Chinese and U.S. Naval officers.

In a letter to top Pentagon officials, Sen. John McCain , the Arizona Republican who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, said it would send the wrong signal to America’s allies in Asia.

“Sending such a platform to China would be seen as an international display of respect to China and its Navy, despite Beijing’s recent record of aggressive behavior in the East and South China Seas,” Mr. McCain wrote.

Write to Julian E. Barnes at julian.barnes@wsj.com and Dion Nissenbaum at dion.nissenbaum@wsj.com

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