Photo taken on June 24, 2014 shows Chinese navy's supply ship Qiandaohu in Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, the United States. The Chinese fleet participating in the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) multinational naval exercises arrived at Pearl Harbor on Tuesday.[Xinhua]

At the invitation of Leon Panetta, former U.S. Defense Secretary, China's PLA Navy is taking part in Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) naval drills 2014 for the first time ever. This was a friendly gesture on the part of the United States that will hopefully improve military-to-military relationships between the two countries. However, the Chinese fleet is excluded from the more sensitive drills such as joint air-defense, anti-submarine and amphibious operations, and will only take part in the less sensitive exercises such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

In Guam, Chinese ships did join U.S. and Brunei naval ships and took part in live-fire drills. They acquitted themselves well, hitting all targets accurately. But in modern naval warfare, missiles are the weapons of choice and guns are only used in exceptional circumstances.

U.S. law prohibits the Pentagon from any military contact with the PLA if it might "create a national security risk due to an inappropriate exposure" to activities including joint combat operations.

Lt. Col. Catherine Wilkinson, a Pentagon spokeswoman, made it clear: "China's participation in RIMPAC would adhere to U.S. law and noted precautions taken by the navy in drills to avoid revealing sensitive information."

"The U.S. Navy has operational security safeguards to protect U.S. technology and tactics, techniques and procedures from disclosure," she added.