U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel speaks during the closing news conference at a meeting of defense ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 3, 2014. Credit: Reuters/Alex Wong/Pool
U.S. To Skip China Fleet Review After Japan Shunned -- Reuters
(Reuters) - The United States is scrapping plans for a Navy ship to join a fleet review in China after key ally, Japan, was not invited, U.S. officials said on Thursday, in a move that came just ahead of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's trip to Japan and China.
The United States had been invited to participate in the fleet review - essentially a parade of ships - as part of activities linked to the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, which is being held this month in Qingdao, an eastern port city.
The United States will still participate in the naval symposium and will observe the review, one official said.
"We're not going to put a ship in the actual parade. We'll observe the parade," the U.S. official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity, adding the decision was taken last week and came after a request by ally Japan.
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More News On The U.S. Skipping China's Fleet Review After Japan Was Shunned
US Navy scraps plans to send ship to China fleet review after Japan snubbed -- South China Morning Post
U.S. not participating in China’s fleet review as Japan was snubbed -- JDP
US pulls out of naval ceremony in China -- Daily Times/AFP
My Comment: For the past few years I have been reading about Pentagon complaints that the Chinese military had a closed mindset when it came to not having exchanges and discussions with their American counterparts. But in the past year .... especially with the ascendency of the Chinese President Xi .... they have opened up .... and have even invited their U.S. counterparts to their military reviews. And what is the result now .... a closing of the door by the Pentagon and (in the view of the Chinese) a slap in the face.
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