Three aircraft carriers filled the skies with fighters as one of the largest US military exercises in decades got underway yesterday off Guam.
For the first time ever, a Chinese delegation was sent to observe the US war games, dubbed "Valiant Shield."
The maneuvers bring three carriers together in the Pacific for the first time since the Vietnam War. Some 30 ships, 280 aircraft and 22,000 troops will be participating in the five-day war games, which end on Friday.
The exercises are intended to boost the ability of the Navy, Air Force and Marines to work together and respond quickly to potential contingencies in this part of the world, US military officials said. Even US Coast Guard vessels were joining in the maneuvers.
"The exercises are taking place on land, sea, air, space and cyberspace," Senior Master Sergeant Charles Ramey said. "They cover the whole spectrum."
"These exercises are not aimed at any one nation," Commander Mike Brown said.
The exercises are intended to provide training in "detecting, locating, tracking and engaging" a wide range of threats in the air, land and sea.
Representatives from China, Japan, Australia, South Korea, Russia and Singapore were invited to attend. China's presence has been singled out as particularly significant.
Though military relations between Beijing and Washington cooled when a US spy plane was detained in 2001, senior US military officials are cautiously trying to mend the rift. At the same time, the Pentagon has expressed strong concern over the secrecy that shrouds China's rapidly modernizing military.
Admiral William Fallon, the top US commander in the Pacific, has said previously that implicit in the invitation was the expectation that China would reciprocate.
China's 10-member delegation includes one top-ranking officer each from the People's Liberation Army, air force and navy, the official Xinhua news agency reported yesterday.
"The invitation to observe the US military exercises is a very important component of exchanges between the militaries of China and the United States," Xinhua quoted an unidentified defense ministry official as saying.
"This is not only beneficial to mutual understanding and confidence building, but it is also beneficial to mutual study and reference, and for advancing the continued development of our militaries," the official was quoted as saying.
The Chinese delegation toured the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan on Sunday, Xinhua said.
US supporters of such exchanges say they reduce the possibility of future conflicts by impressing on China the advanced capabilities of the US military.
Opponents say China takes away valuable lessons about US weapons and tactics that it could apply in future conflicts -- including over Taiwan -- while revealing little about its own modernization.
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