China anti-satellite test sends wrong signal: US

Beijing, May 12: The new head of the U S Pacific Command said today that China's anti-satellite test sent a ''confusing signal'' about its military intentions, adding he would use his post to push for deeper exchange and openness between the countries' forces.

Adm Timothy Keating, who took the helm of the Pacific Command two months ago, said Guo Boxiong, the vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, emphasised to him that Beijing's intentions in the test were purely scientific.

But he said other countries saw the January missile strike against one of its own satellites as having military overtones.

''We agreed, each of us, to hold to our different perspectives,'' Keating told reporters.

''An anti-satellite test is not necessarily a clear indication of a desire for peaceful utilisation of space. It is a confusing signal, shall we say, for a country who desires, in China's words, a peaceful rise.'' China's military modernisation and expanding defence budget have been a source of friction with the United States, which has called for more transparency and warned that a build-up of forces could be destabilising to Northeast Asia.

But Keating, who will visit the 179th army brigade in the eastern city of Nanjing tomorrow, said more of those kinds of exchanges would increase exposure and understanding between the two nations.

Reuters>