CIA Director Leon Panetta testifies at his Senate confirmation hearings to become US Secretary of Defense on Capitol Hill Washington, June 9, 2011.[Photo/Agencies]

NEW YORK - Leon Panetta, picked by US President Barack Obama to succeed Defense Secretary Robert Gates, will likely continue the president's efforts to bridge gaps with China while seeking stronger security ties with Asia-Pacific nations, a think tank analyst said Thursday.

At a Senate panel hearing, Panetta said he plans to follow Gates' policies if he wins Senate approval for the defense secretary position. In dealing with Sino-US military relations, Panetta made a point of addressing the growing threat posed by China's military modernization in his answers to the Senate panel.

Daniel Goure, vice-president of the Lexington Institute, wrote in a blog that "as the outgoing director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Panetta knows perhaps better than anyone in the Obama administration how serious that threat is becoming".

Given this view of the emerging threat, Goure wrote, it is not surprising that Panetta would support his predecessor's efforts to invest in advanced aerospace and naval capabilities.

"At the same time, he will seek strong security ties with the nations of Asia-Pacific including South Korea, Japan, Australia and India," Goure told China Daily.

Jamie Metzl, executive vice-president of the Asia Society in New York, said under any US secretary of defense, relations with China will be a key concern.

"Although some preliminary steps have been taken to foster dialogue between the US and Chinese militaries, the lack of transparency around China's military capabilities and intentions and its recent aggressive statements about the South China Sea have created a heightened sense of concern among China's neighbors and US leaders," Metzl said.

Metzl said, like Gates, Panetta "will look for all opportunities to engage China while preparing for all possible contingencies should US-China relations continue to sour".

Military experts say that Gates' visit to China in January enhanced military-to-military relations but that there is great concern over how to move forward in discussions over Taiwan.

"The most challenging issues (for the US and China on military relations) will be providing security assistance to Taiwan, North Korean nuclear weapons and sovereignty in the South China Sea," Goure said.

The current CIA director, the 72-year-old Panetta was recently nominated by Obama to succeed Gates, a Republican and former CIA director, who is moving on from the post in three weeks.

At the Senate hearing, Panetta spoke of bolstering military spending.

"Secretary Gates and I pretty much walk hand in hand on these issues," Panetta said at the hearing.

The Senate panel praised Panetta's record as director of the CIA since 2009, particularly his handling of the daring raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, The Washington Post reported.

On Afghanistan, Panetta said he agreed with Obama that troop withdrawals starting in July should be "significant". Panetta is a California Democrat who served for 16 years in Congress before becoming president Clinton's budget director in 1993. He said he doesn't believe the US needs to choose between strong fiscal discipline and a strong national defense.

"I don't deny that there are going to be tough decisions that have to be made and tough choices that have to be made," he said. "But we owe it to our citizens to provide both strong fiscal discipline and a strong national defense."

China Daily

(China Daily 06/10/2011 page1)