Chinese Navy Less Aggressive In 2011

BBC News reports:

The US navy says the Chinese navy has been less aggressive in contested waters in the Asia-Pacific region.

The head of the US Pacific Command, Admiral Robert Willard, said this was a "positive" development.

He linked the apparent change in approach to strong statements from US officials against Chinese actions.

China's growing military strength has sparked several clashes in recent years in East Asian waters where it claims exclusive rights.

"There has been a retrenchment a bit by the Chinese navy, such that while we continue to experience their shadowing of some of our ships that are operating in some of these waters, we have not seen the same level of assertiveness in 2011 that we witnessed in 2010," Adm Willard told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

He believed that the resumption of military talks between the US and China has helped, and said "perhaps we can make an advancement in that regard".

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates had made "very strong statements", he noted.

Mrs Clinton told a regional summit in Vietnam last year that the US supported non-Chinese claimants to the sea.

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