Chinese navy less assertive in 2011: US admiral: "A top US officer said Tuesday that China's navy has adopted a less aggressive stance in the Pacific in recent months after protests from Washington and other nations in the region.
Admiral Robert Willard, head of US Pacific Command, told senators the trend since January represented a 'positive' step after mounting tension over territorial disputes in the South China Sea and elsewhere.
'There has been a retrenchment a bit by the Chinese navy, such that while we continue to experience their shadowing of some our ships that are operating in some of these waters, we have not seen the same level of assertiveness in 2011 that we witnessed in 2010,' Willard told the Senate Armed Services Committee."
