US lawmakers to tour China, Taiwan, S. Korea

WASHINGTON: US House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon said Wednesday he would lead fellow lawmakers to China, Taiwan and South Korea in late September amid concerns about Beijing's military build-up.

"It'll give some members of the committee a little better understanding of what we're facing over there," McKeon told reporters of the visit, which he said would take place "at the end of this month."

McKeon's comment came after he was asked whether his panel would hold a hearing on reports warning about China's rising naval power and investments in high-tech weaponry that would extend its reach in the Pacific and beyond.

"We're going to hit China, Taiwan and (South) Korea to give us a chance to look at some of that," replied the lawmaker, who said the delegation would meet with the head of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral Robert Willard.

China said Wednesday it would avoid "invasion, expansion or war" -- but not at the expense of its claims on Taiwan -- as it seeks to dispel fears over its armed forces build-up and territorial assertiveness.

Washington and China's neighbors have expressed rising concerns about Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, military spending and new high-tech equipment that includes an aircraft carrier that trialled last month.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011