Font size: 
Government-controlled journalism may not offer a comprehensive look into the mindset of the Chinese leadership. Yet issues raised by reporters from national TV station CCTV, top wire service Xinhua and major newspapers like the English-language China Daily and the Global Times, affiliated with the flagship Communist Party newspaper People's Daily, when taken together, represent pieces of the puzzle which shapes public opinion in the People's Republic of China.
Adm. Keating, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, was on his second visit to Beijing since May last year. Speaking to reporters Tuesday, he characterized a series of discussions with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Liberation Army General Staff Department, and the all-important Central Military Commission linked to the Party and civilian government, as "very productive, informative, candid, forthright and enlightening."
Yet questions from mainland reporters indicate that they view the U.S.-China relationship as potentially confrontational, a view they share with a Chinese public that has little access to unofficial information sources. A reporter from China Daily asked the admiral for his comment concerning rising signs of conflict because of proposed U.S. arms sales to Taiwan.
"I'm a simple sailor," Keating began. "My country's policy hasn't wavered one iota since 1979: there is but one China." After the normalization of diplomatic ties with Beijing that year, the U.S. Congress passed the Taiwan Relations Act, which includes a promise to sell defensive weapons to the island in quantities and quality only necessary to deter an invasion.
He said the Pacific Command was "vitally interested in ensuring security stability throughout the region, including on both sides of the (Taiwan) Strait."
Keating made a veiled reference to the PLA buildup of missiles plus other air, land and sea fighting capabilities. "We watch carefully and evaluate any elements that we see as destabilizing," while passing recommendations on weapons sales to the secretary of defense, he said.
The admiral had a sharp but polite exchange with CCTV over what was termed the "Kitty Hawk incident." The reporter wondered why the United States decided to have the carrier cross through the Taiwan Strait last year without first seeking permission from China, after being denied a Thanksgiving port call in Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities.
"We don't need China's permission to go through the Taiwan Strait, it is international waters," Keating said. He said the U.S. Navy "will exercise our free right of passage whenever and wherever we choose, as we have done repeatedly in the past, and will do in the future."
The admiral said that poor weather on the eastern side of Taiwan led the commander to request permission from U.S. authorities to transit the Taiwan Strait, which was granted.
Keating referred to earlier comments by James Shinn, assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs, reflecting U.S. concerns over the low level of military transparency shared between the two countries. He said the United States would respond to Chinese questions truthfully and expected the same in return, which would result in a "healthy robust dialogue."
China gave no reason for denying the Hong Kong port call to U.S. sailors, though analysts have speculated it was China's way of voicing its disapproval of the planned U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. In the past China has denied such visits when relations between the two countries were particularly tense.
Xinhua asked the admiral what the United States would do if war breaks out across the Taiwan Strait in 2008.
"The reason we are here (is because) our fundamental goal is to make sure that the situation you describe does not happen," Keating said.
He added that the United States was "making every effort, and not just unilateral, but bilateral and multilateral with the more than 40 countries in our area of responsibility," so that "there's no conflict but better understanding, better communication, plus collaboration and cooperation across the entire spectrum of military operations."
A reporter from the party mouthpiece affiliate, Global Times, asked if the Pacific Command saw Chinese submarine development as a threat, and what he thought of the PLA's strategic doctrine.
"Chinese submarines have impressive capabilities, and their numbers are increasing; the U.S. has very impressive capabilities in its submarine fleet, and we are continuing to build submarines," Keating said. But, he added, "The last thing we want is a confrontation, whether it's in the air, on land, on the sea or under the sea."
The admiral said discussions with military officials in May had focused more on strategic doctrine issues. "The Chinese profess to want to protect the things that are theirs. Included in that list, I am assuming, are the sea lines of communications that provide for the flow of commerce and energy sources."
Keating said it was absolutely essential to have transparency in U.S.-China military communications, "to enhance it, to develop it, to insist upon it, so as to avoid any miscalculation."
"In submarine operations, because they are conducted underwater, there is greater potential for inadvertent activity that could be misconstrued or misunderstood," he said. "It is that misunderstanding, that uncertainty, which we're working hard to eliminate."
