China’s defense minister and a delegation of military officials will visit sensitive US military facilities this week, raising fresh concerns that the Pentagon may not be fully abiding by a 2000 law restricting Chinese military visits.

Asked about security concerns related to the large delegation of Chinese military officials, Cmdr. Leslie Hull-Ryde, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the visit “was given a thorough security and policy review to ensure compliance with US laws and department policy. The delegation is not stopping at any location that has not been appropriately cleared for this visit.”

But a defense official close to the visit said the arrival of Chinese Minister of Defense Gen. Liang Guanglie and a large delegation raises concerns among some in the Pentagon about whether the Obama administration is violating the 2000 National Defense Authorization Act provisions that prohibit showing Chinese military visitors key facilities that could boost Beijing’s growing military power.

Section 1201 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2000 prohibits military exchanges with China that would “create a national security risk due to an inappropriate exposure” of 12 areas. They include force projection operations, nuclear operations, advanced combined-arms and joint combat operations, and advanced logistical operations.

Other areas include a ban on viewing chemical and biological defense and other capabilities related to weapons of mass destruction, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, joint war-fighting experiments, and other activities related to a transformation in warfare.

Additional proscribed activities for Chinese military visits include a ban on any facilities involved in military space operations, other advanced military capabilities, arms sales or military-related technology transfers, and anything involving the release of classified or restricted information. Pentagon laboratories are also out of bounds...

Liang’s visit also comes two weeks after North Korea showed off six Chinese-made mobile strategic missile launchers during a military parade in Pyongyang April 15. The launcher transfer raises new questions about Beijing’s arms proliferation to rogue states.

Liang arrived in San Francisco on Friday and visited Naval Amphibious Base Coronado near San Diego, where he took a tour of a Navy destroyer under what the Pentagon said was an effort to show US “counter-piracy capabilities.” Liang also visited an advanced Navy ship-driving simulator. He is scheduled to meet Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on Monday and will have dinner with the secretary.

Other stops on the Chinese military visit include a stop at the US Southern Command “to discuss best practices in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief,” a defense official said.

The Chinese military group will also travel to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina for a meeting with Marines. Liang and the Chinese military also will visit Seymour Johnson Air Force Base in North Carolina, where they will be shown F-15E jet training.

The last stop will be the US Military Academy at West Point.

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Editor's Note: Given that one of Mr. Obama's appointments to the Pentagon's heirarchy, Rosa Brooks, is a former Los Angeles Times "journalist" who routinely struck an "it's America's fault" pose in her diatribes, why wouldn't a vists from a Chinese military commander to sensitive installations be cleared by the Pentagon?


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