What Panetta's visit means

US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is scheduled to visit China later this month amid rising tensions between China and Japan over the sovereignty of the Diaoyu Islands and the ongoing US-Japan joint exercise purported to take over the islands. Also, China is getting increasingly worried over the United States' role in Beijing's territorial disputes with some of its neighbors, Washington's strategy for the Asia-Pacific region and the strategic distrust between the two countries' militaries. So what can be expected from Panetta's first visit to China as Pentagon chief?

Panetta's visit, in my personal opinion, will help China understand US strategic intentions. This year has seen a great change in Washington's military strategy. On Jan 5, the US Defense Department released a non-classified version of its strategic defense guideline, "Sustaining US Global Leadership: Priorities for 21st Century Defense", which announced the shift in US strategic focus from the Middle East to Asia-Pacific. Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore on June 2, Panetta outlined details of the US plan for its "rebalance" toward Asia-Pacific, saying the US Navy will reposition 60 percent of its warships in Asia-Pacific by 2020 as part of its new military strategy.

When the dispute between China and the Philippines over the sovereignty of the Huangyan Islands in the South China Sea heated up in April, the US, then engaged in a joint military drill with the Philippines, supported Manila's aggressive attitude. Now when China is at odds with Japan over the Diaoyu Islands dispute, the US is holding controversial joint exercises with Japan in Tinian, Guam, and Saipan.