BREAKING NEWS

Panetta: Access to Pacific harbours key to US strategy

By REUTERS

JUNE 3, 2012 14:37

CAM RANH BAY, Vietnam - US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta visited a deep-water Vietnamese port near the contested South China Sea on Sunday, calling access to such harbors critical as the US shifts 60 percent of its warships to the Asia-Pacific by 2020.

Panetta flew to Cam Ranh Bay, one of Asia's finest deep-water harbors located about 450 miles (720 km) south of China, just a day after he spelled out details of a new US military strategy that calls for a shift in focus to the Pacific after a decade of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While US officials insisted the visit had nothing to do with China, Panetta's appearance was likely to heighten concerns among some Chinese officials who see the shift as an attempt to fence in the country and frustrate Beijing's territorial claims, especially in the South China Sea.

Chinese Lieutenant General Ren Haiquan noted the US decision to increase the number of warships in the Pacific during remarks at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Sunday.

"First, we should not treat this as a disaster," Ren said.

"I believe that this is the United States' response to its own national interests, its fiscal difficulties and global security developments," he said in comments reported by Hong Kong's Phoenix Television.

US military intercepts Houthi UAV above the Red Sea

By MAARIV

05/07/2024 03:26 AM

Tzav 9 activists block humanitarian aid trucks en route to Gaza

By WALLA!

05/07/2024 02:46 AM

The IDF is about to take over the Palestinian side of Rafah Crossing

By MAARIV

05/07/2024 01:45 AM

Qatar foreign ministry: Hamas response to truce proposal is 'positive'

By REUTERS

05/07/2024 01:19 AM