PEARL HARBOR, Hawaii--Repeated Chinese navy helicopter flights close to Japan's Self-Defense Force ships in the East China Sea and the Western Pacific in April were neither professional nor responsible, says the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, Adm. Patrick Walsh.
Walsh, in a recent interview with The Asahi Shimbun at fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, where a Japanese training squadron was visiting, went on: "It raised the concerns of all of us who use the Pacific."
Walsh expressed concern about China's increasingly aggressive behavior in the South China Sea.
He pointed out that in 2009 alone, China detained 433 Vietnamese fishermen who were working in waters where the territorial claims of both countries overlap.
He also said that China recently started describing the South China Sea as its "core interest." It is a term that China uses to explain its positions vis-a-vis Taiwan and Tibet.
"This is an issue that has us very, very concerned because, on principle, the interference with freedom of navigation in international water is a core interest for those who use the global commons," Walsh said.
"At the same time, this economic 'carotid artery' that runs through the South China Sea ... they are willing to put at risk over rocks, reefs and disputed claims."
While the United States has been trying to maintain a mature relationship with China in the economic sphere, he said, "the military representation of the People's Republic of China is one where we just lag any kind of mature relationship, and it's just fraught with the potential for misunderstanding."
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates' request to visit China was recently rebuffed by China. The Chinese explanation was "it is not convenient," according to a source familiar with the exchange.
In reaction to China's disturbing behavior in the South China Sea, several littoral states such as Vietnam and Singapore are now purchasing submarines "as a way of protecting sovereign rights," Walsh said.
He stopped short of characterizing the situation as "an arms race."
However, he said, "This is a representation of a growing problem in the region ... ."
Since he assumed his current position last year, Walsh has visited South China Sea littoral nations, among them Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
"These are countries that are interested in a closer relationship with our navy, and I intend to follow up on it," Walsh said.
As for the relationship between what is happening in the South China Sea and in waters closer to Japan, the admiral said, "I do think it's a broader sort of set of issues here, in terms of how the Chinese, the People's Liberation Army, represent themselves, beyond their territorial waters."
He emphasized his view that all these activities by China should be seen as interconnected and as having the same strategic objective.
When asked how much of an actual threat China's anti-ship ballistic missiles (ASBMs) pose to the U.S. Navy, he did not answer directly, saying only, "I think it represents a continued advancement and maturing of technology."
He added: "If you remember, there were many, several years ago, who were critical of the missile defense program. Now we find the missile defense program as being something that's essential to our ability to operate freely."
Walsh seemed to imply that China's ASBM program, while not completed, is steadily moving toward deployment.
ASBMs are considered one of the major weapon systems along with submarines that could enable China to have what the United States calls "anti-access/area-denial" capabilities, which can prevent the U.S Navy from freely navigating and operating in the Western Pacific.
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