US Navy head calls intentions of China’s expanding navy ‘opaque’

US Navy head calls China’s intentions ‘opaque’

PARIS — A high-ranking U.S. Navy official says that China’s intentions in developing its navy remain “opaque.”

Adm. Gary Roughead, chief of naval operations, says that it’s crucial for the United States and other countries to strengthen their relations with the expanding Chinese navy in order to better understand the country’s objectives at sea.

Speaking Wednesday to reporters in Paris, where he held meetings with his French counterpart, Roughead said that considering China’s rapid economic development, it was natural that the country should look to expand its navy.

But, he said, the Chinese are “somewhat opaque when it comes to intentions” and it is “important” for the U.S. and regional countries to understand “what they want that navy to be.”