US downplays officer’s provocative China remarks

The US Department of Defense has played down remarks by a top Navy intelligence officer who recently said he believed that China is training its forces to become capable of carrying out a “short, sharp” war with Japan in the East China Sea.

Captain James Fanell, director of intelligence and information operations at the US Pacific Fleet, made the comments last week at a conference on maritime strategy called “West 2014” in San Diego.

Fanell further said that he expected China to declare an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea by the end of 2015.

However, the Pentagon’s top spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby told a news conference on Thursday that the department seeks closer relations with China’s military.

“Those were his views to express,” Kirby said.

“What I can tell you about what Secretary Hagel believes is that we all continue to believe that the peaceful, prosperous rise of China is a good thing for the region, for the world,” he added, referring to US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Asked whether Washington shared Fanell’s assessments, Kirby noted that it would be inappropriate for him to speak to the purposes or motivations of another country’s army.

“It’s for China to speak to China’s intentions and motivations and their relations with their neighbors. And nothing’s changed about our view here,” Kirby said.

Last year, Beijing declared an air defense zone above the East China Sea, where it is locked in a territorial dispute with Tokyo over a chain of islands. The move outraged South Korea, the Philippines and Japan.

Beijing required all aircraft to provide their flight plan, declare their nationality and maintain two-way radio communication before entering the airspace, or face “defensive emergency measures.”

Recent Japanese media reports said that the Chinese government is considering declaring another ADIZ over the South China Sea.