275. Pentagon outlines concerns over China...by Felicia Schawartz

Tempe, Ariz - The U.S. is deeply concerned about China's behavior in the

South China Sea and its cyber activities, defense secretary Ash Carter

said Monday as he headed for security meetings in the region.

In his first major remarks on China as defense secretary of State, Mr. Carter

struck a tough pose. He said the U.S would invest in weapons including a

long range stealth bomber as well as other assets to secure the Asia Pacific

region.

The U.S will deploy advanced aircraft and ships to the region, part of a

gradual increase in attention to Asia during President Barack Obama's

last two years in office.

" We and many other countries are deeply concerned about some of the

activities China is undertaking." Mr. Carter said;. speaking at Arizona State

University's Mc Cain institute.

"Its opaque defense budget, its actions in cyber space and its behavior in

places like the South China Sea raise a number of serious questions."

Zhu HaiQuan, the Chinese Embassy spokenman in Washington , responded

in a statement that dialogue between the Pentagon and Beijing would help

dissipate mistrust between the two nations. Mr. Zhu said that China pursues

a policy that is defensive in nature, and play a positive and constructive role in

regional and global security affairs.

The U.S defense secretary's comments set the tone for a trip to South Korea

and Japan this week to work on revising joint defense guidelines.

The U.S has reservations about China, but Mr. Carter said big powers could

cooperate to advance stability in the region." The U.S and China are not

allies, but we don't have to be adversaries." He said.

By Felicia Schawartz

The Wall Street Journal
4-7-15