China worries as US moves closer to Asia

US DEFENCE secretary Leon Panetta visited a deep-water Vietnamese port near the contested South China Sea yesterday, calling access to such harbours critical as the US plans to shift 60 per cent of its warships to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020.

Mr Panetta flew to Cam Ranh Bay, one of Asia’s finest deep-water harbours located about 450 miles south of China, just a day after he spelled out details of a new US military strategy that calls for a shift in focus to the Pacific after a decade of conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq.

While US officials insisted the visit had nothing to do with China, Mr Panetta’s appearance was likely to heighten concerns among some Chinese officials who see the shift as an attempt to fence in the country.

Mr Panetta said his visit was symbolic of how far the two countries have come since they normalised relations 17 years ago, adding that partnerships with countries such as Vietnam were critical to US strategy.