Press Conference of U.S. Chief of Naval Operations
Admiral Gary Roughead
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Westin Chaoyang Hotel, Beijing

 

Admiral Roughead:  Good morning.  It’s a pleasure to be here, and thank all of you for coming to talk a little bit about my visit.  It’s great to see some old friends in the audience.

I am here for a couple of reasons.  One, to attend the 60^th Anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy and to be present for the International Fleet Review that will be taking place in Qingdao.  But it also affords me an opportunity to continue my discussions with [PLA Navy Chief] Vice Admiral Wu Shengli.  We have known one another for a couple of years and have had the opportunity to meet not only in China but also when I was Commander of the Pacific Fleet he visited me in Hawaii where we spent some time together there.

 

I believe that opportunities like this for our navies to come together to talk about things that navies talk about, to be able to advance our military-to-military relationship and the context of a broader and comprehensive US-China relationship is very important.  It’s a pleasure to be here.  It’s a pleasure to be back in China.  It is also a pleasure to be spending time with my counterpart Vice Admiral Wu Shengli
With that, I’ll take any questions that you may have.

Question:  Thank you and good morning.  [Inaudible]

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you.  I think it’s important that as navies, as maritime forces operate the oceans of the world that they operate in accordance with international law.  There are times where some of the interpretations of that law may be a bit different, but I do believe that the most important thing as leaders of navies is that our operations and the encounters that take place between ships of our navies or maritime forces or other maritime activities are done in such a way that they are safe and that they do not jeopardize the ships and most importantly the men and women who sail on the ships.

 

Question:  [Inaudible] categories.  [Inaudible] navy instead of a [inaudible].  So what’s your description of these kind of militaries now and what [inaudible] ocean?  And [inaudible] due to the impact of incidents, [inaudible] two countries can work [inaudible] of the sea accepted by both sides?  And [inaudible] happening in the future?

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you.  I have been privileged to serve in the Pacific and obviously to have been in my Navy for quite a number of years.  I have watched the development of the PLA Navy and have had a bit of a personal insight into that development for about the last 15 years as my duties have exposed me to the PLA Navy.  I have seen the PLA Navy grow in capability and in capacity, and clearly as recently shown in the reach of that navy as the PLA Navy operates in the counter-piracy mission with other nations in the vicinity of Somalia.  So I’ve seen the PLA Navy grow.
I believe the most important thing is that navies continue to work cooperatively for the peace and security and stability of the world and the oceans that are so important to our commerce and prosperity.

With regard to the Impeccable, as I mentioned, it’s important that we adhere to international law even though there may be some different interpretations.  We must continue to operate in accordance with the rules of the road that all mariners accept and understand.  And most importantly, that we operate safely so as not to jeopardize the safety of our men and women.

Question: My question is do you have some details about the [inaudible]?  And could you make some comments on [inaudible]?  And do you think [inaudible] that the communication of military affairs between China and the United States is returning to normal?  Thank you.

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you for the question.

I’m very eager to visit Qingdao.  I’ve not visited there before.  But most importantly, to be able to participate with other Navy leaders in the 60^th Anniversary of the founding of the PLA Navy.  I believe that it’s going to be a very good experience and demonstration of the PLA Navy’s capabilities.

The particulars of my visit also include additional visits to some PLA Navy units, and I’m very much looking forward to that because the most enjoyable thing that I do, whether it is with my Navy or any other Navy of the world, is the opportunity to meet the sailors, the young men and women who make up those navies because I always enjoy being with them and learning from them about their experiences and their backgrounds.  So I’m very much looking forward to my fleet visits and also meeting with some of my other counterparts in the region.

Was there a second part to your question?

Question:  Do you think your visit [inaudible] communication of [inaudible] affairs between China and the United States is returning to normal?

Admiral Roughead:  I believe that our military-to-military relationship is very important to the broader comprehensive relationship between our two countries.  The Navy to Navy relationship is one that I believe is important because it even goes beyond the relationships between the two countries, as we’re seeing off the coast of Somalia where there’s a PLA Navy task group that’s participating in counter-piracy operations and where we, of course, have had ships operating in that region for many, many, many years.  And the opportunity for our navies to work together against the threat of piracy I believe is very important.

My meetings with Admiral Wu are part of the continuing military-to-military relationship and an opportunity for us to discuss where there are further opportunities for cooperation in the future.

Question:  There are signs and indications that China is getting ready to build an aircraft carrier if they haven’t already.  How will that change US strategic thinking in the Asia Pacific region?  What sort of alterations will we be making in the makeup of forces out here?  And also on the [USNS] Impeccable incident, the US has made clear that it finds these sorts of confrontations to be unacceptable.  What will you be doing in a more forceful way with particularly Admiral Wu to drive home that message?

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you.  The interest that the PLA Navy has had in an aircraft carrier and the speculation about whether one would be forthcoming [inaudible] is something that quite frankly is not new to me.  I, as I’ve mentioned, have had the privilege of working with and observing the PLA Navy for several years.  There has been no doubt in my mind that the acquisition of an aircraft carrier and carrier aviation was something that was clearly an ambition, an objective of the PLA Navy.

The advent of the aircraft carrier on the part of the PLA Navy to me really doesn’t change the nature of our operations at all.  We have been operating aircraft carriers ourselves, and the real issue is how are those aircraft carriers used and what is the intent of that capability when it’s used.  The United States is not the only nation that operates aircraft carriers.  India, France, Spain, Italy.  But the real issue would be the application of the aircraft carrier, the evolution of carrier aviation.

With regard to the Impeccable, Admiral Wu and I have had an opportunity even before my meeting here to discuss that encounter that took place between Impeccable and some ships over the last couple of months.  Again, I come back to the fact that where we may have different interpretations of operations in the [Indian] Sea, it is important that the interactions between our ships, regardless of whether they are Navy or any other maritime agency, be professional, safe, and do not jeopardize the well-being of sailors.

Question:  Are there any sort of confidence building measures or benchmarks that we need to be looking for over the next year or two years to try to restore the kind of positive direction that you’ve wanted for the last few years?

Admiral Roughead:  I think that our day to day operations in the vicinity of Somalia are a tremendous confidence building measure, and I would say they go beyond a confidence building measure.  Today our two forces are operating there.  The exchange that we’ve had between the commanders of the forces and each other’s [inaudible], I think that those are significant steps in our ability to operate with the PLA Navy.

We also, as you remember, we did some search and rescue exercises.  I’d like to see those advance and continue to participate in that sort of activity because you never know when you might have to do it for real.  I’m a great proponent of cooperative endeavors in humanitarian assistance and how we might be able to work together in some combined and even multilateral humanitarian assistance operations such as the ones that my Navy leads.  We have one going into South America as we speak.  Another humanitarian assistance operation on the West Coast of Africa.  I think those are very important.

I also believe that the ability for our sailors to visit one another in their operational ports is a great way for the young people of our navies to come together, where they can engage in athletic events and social activities and train together.  Those are best done in the operational bases where we are because we have the facilities and that’s where our people live and where the families are.  So I think those would be very good things to do.  That’s all part of the discussion Admiral Wu and I will continue to have over the next couple of days.

Question:  I wonder is it possible for the US Navy and the PLA Navy to work again?  I mean to stage some exercises like [inaudible] China Sea?  Another question about the International Fleet Review in Qingdao.  I’m wondering what ships you will bring to that International Fleet Review.  Thank you.

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you.  And I really do believe that it is possible and I am very eager to participate in those types of exercises, the search and rescue exercises, humanitarian exercises, because I believe that the work that we have done to date has allowed for the better integration of the PLA Navy Task Force and the US Navy Task Force in Somalia.  It’s building on those experiences that are so important.  So I’m always open to those types of activities and encourage those activities at every opportunity.

For our participation in the fleet review that you have, we will have the United States ship Fitzgerald, which is one of our modern Aegis equipped destroyers there to participate in the fleet review.  I will also be joined by my 7^th Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral John Bird.  He will be there with me and will participate in the activities in Qingdao.

Question:  I’m sorry if I don’t have the exact reference, but last month in Hong Kong Admiral Keating said that he was pushing for and trying to make progress on a formal dialogue mechanism between the two navies.  Could you explain the progress of that effort?  And you’ve emphasized that the two navies are trying to work together and that’s understood.  I’m just wondering if you can talk a little bit about the areas of concern that you have beyond the rules of the road.

Admiral Roughead:  Thanks.  We have in place a mechanism for the two navies to be able to come together and talk about issues.  It’s called the Military Maritime Consultative Agreement.  I’m not good with acronyms, but I think I got that one right.  It has been in place for some time, and it is a terrific place to be able to talk about things.  I think it’s important that it not just be a venue where we talk about our problems, but I think it has to be a venue that would also talk about the opportunities and the positive things that we can do.

We have suggested that we convene a session of the MMCA to talk about how we can better operate more safely at sea.  I also would like us to use the MMCA to not just talk about that, but where can we do other things.  I think it is very timely to be able to use the MMCA to talk about some lessons learned from our counter-piracy operations.  They’ve gone very well. 

I think it is important that we in the future, to address your second question, I think we should expand our visitation to other ports.  Again, I keep coming back to the younger generation that I very much would like to see develop early personal relationships with members of the PLA Navy.  That’s a role I think we can [inaudible].

Question:  [Inaudible]?

Admiral Roughead:  I want to say last summer was the last MMCA meeting.  We can get the specific date for that.  It’s a great venue to come together and I would encourage using that as a vehicle.  It’s already there.

Question:  Against a backdrop of [inaudible] created, is there any plan by the US government to [inaudible] Afghanistan, [inaudible] more Aegis ships to the Western Pacific Ocean?  Thanks.

Admiral Roughead:  Thank you for that question.  We are going to be increasing our inventory of Aegis ships in our Navy, but what that allows us to do is to move those ships globally, wherever they are needed.  So we have been very successful with our Aegis ballistic missile defense.  Not just in terms of tracking missiles but also in tests that we have run.  We have found that the Aegis weapon system and the missile that we use in ballistic missile defense has been extremely effective.  So we’ll be increasing the number of ships with that capability, but those ships are able to be used globally and are not tied to any particular area.  That is the great strength of naval forces, because they can be moved to where they are needed and one does not have to have them anchored in any particular geographic place.

So I’m very pleased with the success that we have had with our Aegis missile defense and I’m very pleased that in the recent budget that is being developed in Washington that there is a commitment to increase the number of ships with that capability.

Question:  I want to ask, you just mentioned about what you would bring to Qingdao.  As I know that [inaudible] media attention to whether China will show the new [inaudible] nuclear submarine, the [inaudible] into [inaudible], how the US may evaluate [inaudible] nuclear submarine.  And my next question is since the Chinese Navy gradually goes to the ocean there is more [chance for the] Chinese Navy and to meet the US Navy in the high seas.  During the Cold War the US and the former Soviet Union had reached an agreement about the two sides could not have [inaudible] each other’s warships.  Before the US Commander Keating said that China-US are also [inaudible] establish a similar agreement.  Do you [inaudible], are there any improvements in this [inaudible]?

Admiral Roughead:  First off, on the ships from the PLA Navy that will be participating in the review at Qingdao, I leave that to the PLA Navy to address what ships they will have there.  We will have the USS Fitzgerald, an Aegis guided missile destroyer that will be there. 

I do believe that as our navies continue to operate and as the PLA Navy increases in size and the ability to operate farther from Chinese shores, that our ships will interact with one another as we are doing in a very positive way in the counter-piracy mission.  I think that’s a good thing.

I believe that the agreement that the United States and the Soviet Union formed with regard to incidents at sea and which we still continue to have in force with the Russian Navy, I’m not sure that what we have today and adherence to the rules of the road is not adequate for us.  I think the current existing rules, agreements and laws that exist and the professional nature of our navies is adequate to the types of operations that we are doing.
I was a young officer at the time when the Incidents at Sea Agreement was developed.  The reason that agreement was developed was because our ships were running into one another.  It was very aggressive behavior.

I prefer to think of the relationship that we have with the PLA Navy not in that category.  The fact that I am here with Admiral Wu, that I spent yesterday with him, that I will spend the next couple of days with him I think characterizes our relationship in a much different way and one that I believe is one that’s positive and where the existing rules of the road and agreements are [inaudible] to operate.

Question:  You just said earlier that you have proposed another meeting of the MMCA.  Can you clarify when that was a proposal, was that in reaction to the Impeccable incident or earlier than that that you discussed further meetings?  My other question is, I still don’t have a clear understanding of whether military-to-military dialogue has actually fully resumed or what.  My understanding earlier was that there was the intention to do that and then this Impeccable incident happened and things somehow got disrupted again.  Is that correct?  And where are we now?

Admiral Roughead:  The proposal for an additional MMCA meetings as subsequent to the Impeccable.  As I mentioned, I think it’s the perfect venue to be able to come together and talk about things.  Again, we shouldn’t use MMCA just for problems.  MMCA really has a tremendous potential to talk about future opportunities and enhancements.

With regard to the military-to-military relationship and the reestablishment of them, I’m here.  I was with Admiral Wu yesterday.  I’m getting on an airplane with him today to fly to Qingdao together.  We’ll be together for the next couple of days.  So I think, I put that in the context of a continuing military-to-military dialogue.

What Admiral Wu and I will continue talking about are what are some of the other things we might be able to do to move forward, which I think is always important.

Question:  I’m wondering, what is your sense of the purpose of the [inaudible] of the PLA Navy and [inaudible] US military to operate [inaudible] China?  And a second question, [inaudible].  What is your sense of, what is it that you [inaudible]?  How would you like the PLA Navy to change its [inaudible]?

Admiral Roughead:  I think as I’ve been privy to the developments of the PLA Navy, I’m often asked the question you just asked.  The advancement and the growth in the PLA Navy indeed is consistent with the Chinese economic advancement and its role in a globalized world, and as China has moved forward and as navies exist to ensure the freedom of the seas and the flow of commerce and communication on the seas, it’s not surprising to me to see the PLA Navy develop in the way that it has.

I think it is important, however, that as we create, enable capability, indeed any military capability, that there should be clear communications with regard to the intentions of that capability.  That’s why visits like mine and relationships like mine with Admiral Wu are important.  Because we can all look at the types of ships and the types of airplanes and the numbers of airplanes, and that’s interesting and worthy of note, but it is how countries elect to use those capabilities and what the purposes are and how they would use them and how they would interact with other navies that’s important.  That’s why these dialogues are important.

Question:  Admiral, could you please tell us what is [inaudible] discuss in the last couple of days with the Chinese Admiral and other Chinese officials?  And how would you describe your discussions with them?  Were there any differences?  Thank you.

Admiral Roughead:  Yesterday was my first day that Admiral Wu and I were together on this visit.  I received a very good briefing on the PLA Navy and we talked on a range of issues.  I would say that if I had to characterize a topic that we spent more time on than anything else, it was the work that our two navies are doing in the counter-piracy mission.  That is obviously very much in the forefront of both of our minds.  It is also the first time that we have operated together that far from China, and with a common, real world mission of counter-piracy.  So it was a good opportunity for the two of us to spend some time talking about that.

The next couple of days will allow us to get into greater detail on a variety of subjects, and I look forward to that.  I’m very grateful for the amount of time that Admiral Wu will be spending with me.  As someone who has participated in pulling international activities together of the scale that the PLA navy is doing down in Qingdao, they are very complex, they require a lot of attention on the part of leadership, and I think the fact that he and I are going to have the amount of time over the next couple of days is a very positive sign.

Question:  Differences?

Admiral Roughead:  I would say yesterday we were just kind of bringing one another up to date with regard to our activities and objectives that we have.  I always, I tend to be an optimist.  I always want to look at the positive and areas of commonality where we can work together.  I believe there will be many areas where we can do that.

Question:  Good morning.  I have two questions.  First, what areas does the US Navy forces hope to cooperate with China?  And what projects the two sides are negotiating now.  The second question is, among your agenda of China this time, what’s your focus?  Thank you.

Admiral Roughead:  I think both of those questions actually come together in looking at areas where we can work more closely together.

Clearly counter-piracy is an area that we should maintain a very close dialogue on and look for ways to cooperate, to include exchanging liaison officers among the forces that are participating there.

I would also like us to be able to participate in more search and rescue mission exercises, humanitarian assistance exercises.  I also believe the exchange of young officers and groups within our Navy are very positive and I would like to be able to advance those as much as we can.  Those are the types of things that Admiral Wu and I will be talking about in the coming days.

Question:  Recently we could see that Beijing and Taiwan are building [inaudible] with each other.  Will this [inaudible] US government strategy to Taiwan?

Admiral Roughead:  I’m very pleased with the tone and the tenor of the discussion that’s taking place and I’m hopeful that will continue on.  Our operations in the Pacific and globally will continue as they have been.

Our interest as a Navy in the world today is to ensure the free flow of [inaudible], to ensure the peaceful resolution of any disagreements that might take place, and to ensure that the seas are used in ways that contribute to the prosperity of all nations of the world.

Question:  [Inaudible]?

Admiral Roughead:  Our policy with respect to Taiwan is very clear.  And that as I mentioned in my previous remark, peaceful resolution is [inaudible].

Thank you.

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