This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/world/asia/in-a-test-of-wills-with-china-us-sticks-up-for-japan.html
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Hagel Receives Tour of Carrier in China Visit | Hagel Receives Tour of Carrier in China Visit |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| QINGDAO, China — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got a long-awaited look at China’s only aircraft carrier on Monday, taking a two-hour tour of the vessel at a naval base near this port city, in the first such visit by a foreign defense official, Pentagon officials said. | QINGDAO, China — Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel got a long-awaited look at China’s only aircraft carrier on Monday, taking a two-hour tour of the vessel at a naval base near this port city, in the first such visit by a foreign defense official, Pentagon officials said. |
| Accompanied by a handful of aides, Mr. Hagel toured the medical facilities, living quarters and flight control station of the Liaoning aircraft carrier in Qingdao, and he took a walking tour of the flight deck to see launch stations and other apparatus devoted to getting China’s fighter jets into the air. | |
| Mr. Hagel and other Obama administration officials have repeatedly called on the Chinese government to demonstrate more transparency, particularly in its military, whose budget has increased significantly even as the United States cuts back on military spending. | Mr. Hagel and other Obama administration officials have repeatedly called on the Chinese government to demonstrate more transparency, particularly in its military, whose budget has increased significantly even as the United States cuts back on military spending. |
| After Qingdao, Mr. Hagel flew to Beijing, where he was scheduled to hold talks on Tuesday with the Chinese defense minister and deliver a speech at China’s National Defense University. | After Qingdao, Mr. Hagel flew to Beijing, where he was scheduled to hold talks on Tuesday with the Chinese defense minister and deliver a speech at China’s National Defense University. |
| Military officials accompanying Mr. Hagel said the visit to the ship was a big step in the fledgling military relationship between the United States and China, two global powers that have been increasingly at loggerheads over what many American officials view as Beijing’s aggressive posture toward Japan and other neighbors. | Military officials accompanying Mr. Hagel said the visit to the ship was a big step in the fledgling military relationship between the United States and China, two global powers that have been increasingly at loggerheads over what many American officials view as Beijing’s aggressive posture toward Japan and other neighbors. |
| But Mr. Hagel’s aides said that even if they received only a limited look at China’s maritime capability, they viewed the visit as one bright light in what could be an otherwise contentious trip. | But Mr. Hagel’s aides said that even if they received only a limited look at China’s maritime capability, they viewed the visit as one bright light in what could be an otherwise contentious trip. |
| “It’s always good to get aboard a ship,” Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon press spokesman, told reporters after the tour. “It feels the same, it smells the same.” | “It’s always good to get aboard a ship,” Rear Adm. John F. Kirby, the Pentagon press spokesman, told reporters after the tour. “It feels the same, it smells the same.” |
| Defense officials said that the Chinese carrier is significantly less advanced than its American counterparts, but they added that it can carry out the main function of an aircraft carrier: receiving and launching fighter planes. | Defense officials said that the Chinese carrier is significantly less advanced than its American counterparts, but they added that it can carry out the main function of an aircraft carrier: receiving and launching fighter planes. |