Pacific Ocean pact reports are sunk

The Foreign Ministry yesterday poured cold water on reports that claimed China had suggested to the US that the two nations divide the Pacific Ocean between them.

US Pacific Command chief Admiral Timothy Keating was quoted last Friday by Indian media as saying a high-ranked Chinese military officer had suggested a pact between the countries that called for China to look after the Pacific Ocean west of Hawaii while the US would look after the ocean east of the islands that are also the headquarters of the US Pacific Command.

The Admiral claimed in Indian media that he "shot down the offer".