Bay of Bengal war games not aimed at China: U.S.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States said on Thursday that next month's joint naval exercises with several Asian nations, but not China, were not aimed at isolating Beijing.

The navies of India, Japan, Singapore, Australia and the United States will hold the war games in the Bay of Bengal, the first such joint exercises by the five nations.

Admiral Timothy J. Keating, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, told reporters in New Delhi the exercises were not an attempt to corner China. "There is no, let me emphasize, no effort on our part or any of those (participating) countries' part, I am sure, to isolate China, to put China in a closet," Keating said.

"Rather than give the perception that we are looking to isolate China, quite the contrary, we are looking to embrace them to the extent that we should and can and want to, and the extent that they want," he added.

About two dozen ships, along with submarines, are expected to participate.

Keating refused to comment if any of the U.S. ships involved in the exercises would be nuclear-armed.

India's powerful communists, who are protesting over a civil nuclear deal between India and the United States, have said they would organize protests along the eastern coast against the naval exercises.

Last month, they protested a port call by USS Nimitz to southern India, saying it would compromise India's sovereignty.