China is key to developing a peaceful, prosperous and secure Asia Pacific region, a top Pentagon official has said.
"We are committed to developing a sustainable military-to-military program with the Chinese to improve mutual understanding and reduce risk," the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter, said while addressing the Asia Society in New York yesterday.
"We seek to strengthen our very important relationship with China, and believe that China is key to developing a peaceful, prosperous, and secure Asia-Pacific region," said Carter who recently returned from a 10-day trip to the Asia Pacific region including India, Japan and South Korea.
Referring to the often repeated Chinese apprehension that the recent US posture towards the Asia Pacific region is aimed towards China, Carter said this is not the case.
"This rebalance is not about any single country or group of countries. It is not about China or the United States. It's about a peaceful Asia-Pacific region, where sovereign states can enjoy the benefit of security and continue to prosper," he argued.
The US is enhancing its access and sustainment across the region, he said.
"To strengthen our regional missile defense posture, we are cooperating with Japan and South Korea on missile defense technologies. We are integrating Japanese sensors into our space surveillance network, and cooperating with Australia on space capabilities," Carter said.
In addition to rotationally deploying Littoral Combat Ships, in Singapore the US is exploring options for increased training.
"With the Philippines, we are exploring options for rotational force deployments in priority areas. We are focused on building the Philippines' maritime security presence and capabilities, and strengthening their maritime domain awareness," he added.
Thus US is building trust and confidence in the region through bilateral and multilateral relationships, he said.
"We are advancing roles, missions and capabilities with Japan, and making progress in the transition to South Korean-led operational control.
We leverage multilateral forums, like ASEAN, to address international law and norms issues, like the excessive claims being made on the South China Sea," Carter explained.
Just as the US is thinking about its rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, Japan is considering itself and its own role in the region, he said.