BEIJING – An incident where a Chinese submarine surfaced close to a U.S. carrier group was not threatening but highlighted the need for more communication and transparency between the two militaries, a top U.S. naval commander said Friday.
The potentially volatile incident came to light as Adm. Gary Roughead, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, began a visit to China to coordinate a joint search-and-rescue exercise Sunday aimed at strengthening ties between the two navies.
Roughead said Chinese military officials he met told him the submarine was in international waters, indicating that it was not encroaching on any territorial rights.
The submarine “was operating in a manner that did not hazard any vessel or cause any problems for any vessel,” Roughead said.
“I do believe … that the openness and transparency and the ability to communicate when our forces are operating in proximity with one another is very important,” Roughead said.
China has denied a report by The Washington Times that the sub had followed a U.S. carrier group in the Pacific and surfaced within torpedo firing range.
Adm. William Fallon, the commander of U.S. Pacific Command, said this week that the carrier group was not engaged in anti-submarine exercises. But if it had, “and if this Chinese sub came in the middle of this, then it could have escalated into something that could have been very unforeseen,” said Fallon, who was in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a defense meeting.
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