Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel finally 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 that Pentagon officials said was the first such visit by a foreign defense official.
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 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 defense spending.
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Helene Cooper, New York Times via CHINA US Focus http://ift.tt/1mVb7o2
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