Gates pledges wider US military presence in Asia

But he did highlight a Pentagon commitment to developing ways of countering “anti-access’’ technologies of the kind that the U.S. says China is working on — advanced anti-ship missiles, for example, that could make it harder for U.S. aircraft carriers and other warships to operate in Asia seas.

On Friday evening, Gates met with his Chinese counterpart, Gen. Liang Guanglie. Gates told Liang that he believes the military-to-military relationship is “on a positive trajectory,’’ after a series of setbacks in recent years.

.Liang said he agreed that defense ties are getting better and that they deserve still more attention.

The main elements of friction remain, however. China still claims control of waters the U.S. considers international. Chinese ambition for influence in Southeast Asia and elsewhere still makes smaller nations uneasy, while Beijing dislikes the heavy U.S. naval presence in Asian waters and builds up its military with weaponry only logically intended for use against the U.S.

A new irritant was introduced this week, with allegations that computer hackers in China had compromised the personal Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including U.S. government officials, military personnel and political activists.

The Chinese military tried to direct the spotlight off those allegations Friday, with accusations that the U.S. is launching a global “Internet war’’ to bring down Arab and other governments.

The FBI said it was investigating Google’s allegations, but no official government email accounts have been compromised. Google said all the hacking victims have been notified and their accounts have been secured.

U.S. officials said the Google matter did not arise in Gates’ meeting with Liang Friday.

In his speech Saturday, Gates said friends and foes gauging U.S. intentions should monitor more than the number of U.S. troops on the ground in Asia.