Fishing Boat Incidents Indicate Troubling Rift With China, Admiral Says

By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

May 13, 2009 - The top U.S. officer in the Pacific called recent Chinese harassment of U.S. Navy ships "troublesome" and lamented China's refusal to resume military-to-military dialogue as a lost opportunity to promote understanding that could prevent conflict. Navy Adm. Timothy J. Keating, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, admitted he's as baffled as anyone by the May 1 incident in which two Chinese fishing boats closed in on and maneuvered dangerously close to the USNS Victorious in international waters in the Yellow Sea. That followed on the heels of a March 8 incident in which five Chinese vessels surrounded and harassed the USNS Impeccable as it was conducting operations 80 nautical miles off Hainan Island.

"Their behavior is troublesome," Keating told American Forces Press Service during a flight to India. Chinese vessels defied maritime 'rules of the road,' he said, but also posed a danger to ships operating in accordance with international law.

Keating dismissed any Chinese challenges regarding the right of U.S. Navy ships to operate in China's economic exclusion zone, or EEZ. He noted that 40 percent of the world's waters constitute one or more nations' EEZs, and that other countries' ships regularly operate within them.

"Our ships are operating in accordance with international law and standard rules of the road, and our standing rules of engagement," he said. The Chinese, by harassing them, "are conducting themselves in ... ways that are just not done by normal seafaring men and women."

Bothersome as the incidents are, Keating said, he's even more troubled that there's no military-to-military dialogue between the United States and China to make sure incidents like these don't get out of hand.

China suspended U.S.-Sino military-to-military relations after the U.S. government's announcement in October that it was selling arms to Taiwan. The suspension halted what Keating had considered promising developments.

"In our view, we were making reasonable progress," he said. "We were engendering friendship and improving understanding and a more transparent dialogue."

That progress proceeded despite roadblocks China put in the way – including its sudden denial of port access to the USS Kitty Hawk battle group during the 2007 Thanksgiving weekend, and an earlier denial to U.S. minesweepers seeking refuge from a brewing storm.

"You just don't deny safe harbor to ships that are in need," Keating said. "But we had moved beyond that incident."

That included a new defense hotline for U.S. and Chinese military leaders. It got its first operational use to coordinate U.S. humanitarian support after a devastating earthquake hit southern China last May.

Meanwhile, U.S. and Chinese military delegations conducted senior-level exchanges. Keating made several visits. Another exchange, led by Pacom's senior enlisted advisor, Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Jim Roy, took a delegation of senior enlisted leaders to China. The Chinese reciprocated with a similar visit to Pacom's headquarters in Honolulu.

Keating hasn't been back to China since it severed military ties with the United States, and he conceded he's disappointed that China brought an abrupt halt to progress being made.

He said he wants to see the suspended Military Maritime Consultative Agreement talks, focused on maritime safety, continue. He wants to see China participate in – or at least observe – humanitarian assistance, disaster relief and search-and-rescue exercises.

"We are not able to engage in any of those activities, and in my mind, those are opportunities lost," Keating said. "It is not helpful."

But he's particularly concerned about the potential consequences of cutting off communications. There's no direct way to pick up the phone, dial a number and tell his Chinese counterparts, "I am calling you to tell you I don't understand what you are doing," he said.

"It would be helpful to understand so we don't have confusion," he said. "If confusion persists, that can lead to some sort of confrontation. And confrontation ... can engender a crisis."

And a crisis, if not abated, could lead to conflict, he said.

Keating expressed concern that misunderstandings between the United States and China could escalate if they're not nipped in the bud through simple communication.

"Every day that goes by that we don't have an ability to discuss -- whether it is fairly tactical or broad strategic issues" – with China's military represents "opportunities not realized," he said.