US and "like-minded" partners will keep security in Asia - admiral

BANGKOK, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A partnership between the United
States and "like-minded nations" will keep Asian countries
secure in the face of competition from a rising China, the
commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet said on Friday.
On a visit to Bangkok, Admiral John Aquilino, 56, criticised
China's construction of artifical islands in the South China
Sea, a vital trade waterway with rich energy resources where
Beijing has disputes with five nations.
"We are in competition with the People's Republic of China,"
Aquilino told reporters.
"We have inherent disagreement between ideologies. When the
U.S. talks about values, those are values that like minded
nations share... And I believe that the strength of partnerships
with those values will be what keeps the nations in the region
secure."
Tensions are high between China and the United States in
Asia's waters, where Washington says it is defending freedom of
navigation in accordance with international law and Beijing
accuses the United States of trying to stir trouble.
"I said we were in competition with China but that does not
mean conflict," Aquilino said. "We will cooperate where we can
and we will compete where we must."
Under the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump,
some Southeast Asian nations have been concerned at a possible
U.S. pullback just as China's dominance grows, but Aquilino said
the United States would be in the region for years to come.
He cited so-called freedom of navigation operations in both
the South China Sea and Taiwan Strait in which U.S. and allied
warships have sailed through what China claims as its
territorial waters, provoking Beijing's ire.
He said that in the South China Sea, China had built
features in defiance of international law, that damage the
environment, have a military purpose and "ultimately coerce and
bully nations in the region."