China brushes off US remarks on drill

China has rebuffed US criticism about its upcoming joint naval drill with Russia in the South China Sea.

Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, told the press on Tuesday that the choice of location was not conducive to "increasing the stability within the region", The Associated Press reported.

"There are other places those exercises could have been conducted," he said.

Swift made the comment during a visit to China, coinciding with the US Navy's guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold's five-day port call in Qingdao, Shandong province.

Swift also said that any decision by China to declare an air defense identification zone over the South China Sea would be "very destabilizing from a military perspective". He called on China for more military transparency, citing reports of Chinese construction of hangars for use of military jets adjacent to runways on some Nansha Islands.

"That increases the angst and uncertainty, that lack of transparency, and that is generally destabilizing as opposed to a stabilizing action," Swift told the press.

While the People's Liberation Army Navy North Sea Fleet, headquartered in Qingdao, held a warm welcoming ceremony for the USS Benfold, China's Ministry of National Defense was upset with Swift's remarks on certain issues.

In its direct response to Swift's comments, the ministry's press office described the planned joint military exercise by the Chinese and Russian navies in September as "a routine drill by the two militaries".

"It helps strengthen the capabilities of the two sides in jointly tackling threats in the maritime domain, and it is not aimed at any third party," the Global Times quoted the press office as saying.

The defense ministry criticized the US for its actions to the contrary, citing US efforts to increase military deployment in the South China Sea and carrying out so-called "freedom of navigation" patrols.

'This poses both political and military provocation to China. It makes (an) accident all the more likely, and it undermines regional peace and stability,'it said.

When announcing the joint drill on July 28, ministry spokesman Yang Yujun already stressed that the exercise, code-named Joint Sea-2016, will be held on both land and sea, is routine and does not target any third party.

On Aug 8, Swift visited the PLA Navy North Sea Fleet headquarters where he met with fleet commander Yuan Yubai. They toured the PLA Navy frigate Daqing the following day, according to a US Navy readout.

In the meeting, Swift thanked his hosts for their warm hospitality and highlighted the PLA Navy's participation as one of the 26 navies in the recent Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC 2016) naval exercises.

He stressed that sustained navy-to-navy engagements are 'essential building blocks toward increasing cooperation and reducing tensions at sea'.

Yuan and Swift also talked about operations at sea. Swift said that despite any differences in national policies, it is incumbent upon fleet commanders like himself and Yuan to ensure that actions at the tactical level do not have unintended strategic implications, according to the US Navy readout.

chenweihua@chinadailyusa.com

(China Daily 08/12/2016 page1)