Leon Panetta becomes highest ranking official to visit Vietnam base since war

The US Navy now plans to switch from a 50-50 split between the Atlantic Ocean
and the Pacific to 60 per cent of its ships in the Pacific by 2020 as it
‘pivots’ towards Asia to contain the rising capabilities of China’s People’s
Liberation Army.

In recent months, China has seen a number of spats with its neighbours in the
South China Sea, where several nations have overlapping territorial claims.

Mr Panetta said the US would maintain six aircraft carriers in the region and
also mentioned the arrival of the Joint Strike Fighter and the
Virginia-class fast-attack submarine that can operate in both deep and
shallow waters.

These weapons would allow the US to move in areas where access is denied, he
said, perhaps referring to China’s policy of keeping the US at a distance
from its shores with ‘carrier-killer’ anti-ship missiles and submarines.

China has repeatedly warned the US not to interfere in Asia. “The South
China Sea is not America’s business,” said General Ma Xiaotian, the
deputy chief of general staff of the PLA, recently. “It is between
China and its neighbours.”

The US strategy may persuade Europe to also increase its presence in the
region, after France said over the weekend that the EU should reconsider its
strategy. Canada has also applied to set up a logistics facility in
Singapore, in order to support the US coalition.

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