US Navy admiral says sailing past Chinese isles not a threat
The head of the U.S. Pacific military forces says the U.S. naval challenge last week to China's sovereignty claims in the South China Sea was not designed as a military threat.
Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. spoke Tuesday to Stanford University students studying at Peking University during his first visit to the Chinese capital as commander of U.S. Pacific Command.
Harris has been outspoken in his criticism of China's land reclamation in the South China Sea. In March, he said China is "creating a great wall of sand" that is causing serious concern about militarizing reefs and artificial islands in an area of competing territorial claims by several nations.
