Pentagon pulls China invite to naval drills

THE Pentagon has pulled its invitation for China to join maritime exercises in the Pacific because of Beijing’s “continued militarisation” of the South China Sea, an official said Wednesday, in the latest sign of US-China strains.

China hit back at the decision, calling it “very non-constructive” and saying it was taken without due reflection.

Personnel from over two dozen countries train together and work on seamanship across the vast region for the biennial Rim of the Pacific (Rimpac) exercise organised by the US Navy.

But the United States now says China’s behaviour in the South China Sea runs counter to the spirit of the drills.

“China’s continued militarisation of disputed features in the South China Sea only serves to raise tensions and destabilise the region,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Chris Logan said. “We have disinvited the PLA Navy from the 2018 Rim of the Pacific Exercise. China’s behavior is inconsistent with the principles and purposes of the Rimpac exercise.”

China’s Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi said the US decision to exclude it from Rimpac was “very non-constructive”.

“It’s also a decision taken lightly and is unhelpful to mutual understanding between China and the US,”Wang said at a press conference with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after the two met in Washington.

Pompeo did not comment on the matter, saying only that the pair had had a “g ood discussion” about US concerns of militarisation of the South China Sea.

China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jammers to “contested features” in the Spratly Islands region of the South China Sea, Logan said.

“While China has maintained that the construction of the islands is to ensure safety at sea, navigation assistance, search and rescue, fisheries protection and other nonmilitary functions, the placement of these weapon systems is only for military use,” Logan said, noting that the landing of a Chinese bomber on Woody Island had only exacerbated strains.

The decision to pull China’s invitation comes amid new tensions between Beijing and Washington.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was not satisfied with talks aimed at averting a trade war with China.

And on Tuesday, he suggested that Chinese President Xi Jinping might have played a role in North Korea’s recent threats to withdraw from a planned summit with the US.