US shift must be watched: analysts

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Despite the United States claiming that its naval shift to the Asia-Pacific is not designed to contain China, Washington's strategy needs closer attention amid a tense maritime situation,analysts said.

The US will reposition its naval forces so that 60 percent of them will be in the Pacific by 2020,US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told the 11th Asia Security Summit in Singapore on Saturday, giving the first details of a new US military strategy announced in January.

Currently, the US fleet of 285 ships is almost evenly split between the Atlantic and the Pacific.

When asked if the shift in strategy is a challenge to China, Panetta was adamant. "I reject that view entirely," he said.

China said it would improve the capability of its forces and has the capacity to "strike back" when "fundamental interests" are under threat.

Panetta's announcement came at a time when Asia-Pacific powers are involved in occasional territorial disputes. Chinese fishermen were harassed by Philippine warships in territorial waters off China's Huangyan Island, in the South China Sea.

About 2,500 US Marines will be deployed in Australia, and there may be a similar arrangement in the Philippines.

Panetta's announcement sent the clearest signal yet that the rebalancing of US strategic focus is real, Chris Johnson, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Wall Street Journal.

Redeployment to the Asia-Pacific means the US role in the region will be "more than just policing, it will be like a security officer", Wang Peiran, a visiting scholar, said.

Navy officials closely guard the location of their vessels, and US defense officials would not say what parts of the Atlantic fleet would be repositioned.

Despite budget cuts that are projected to shrink Pentagon spending by $487 billion over the next 10 years, the US will develop new weapons to help shore up the US presence in Asia, Panetta said.

Yet, Panetta sought to dispel the notion that the US is against an emerging China, saying "there really is no other alternative but for both of us to engage and to improve our communications and to improve our (military-to-military) relationships".

Despite Washington's increasing military presence in the region, it is not likely to change its neutral position on territorial disputes between China and its neighbors, said Niu Jun, a professor of international politics at Peking University.

Questions:

1. What percentage of US naval forces will be repositioned in the Pacific by 2020?

2. How many US ships are currently split between the Atlantic and the Pacific?

3. What will the US develop despite budget cuts?

Answers:

1. 60 percent.

2. 285.

3. New weapons to help shore up the US presence in Asia.

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Emily Cheng is an editor at China Daily. She was born in Sydney, Australia and graduated from the University of Sydney with a degree in Media, English Literature and Politics. She has worked in the media industry since starting university and this is the third time she has settled abroad - she interned with a magazine in Hong Kong 2007 and studied at the University of Leeds in 2009.