PLA Chief of the General Staff Department (GSD) General Fang Fenghui, speaking after a meeting with Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, in the US on May 16,said "the rebalancing strategy of the U.S. has stirred up some of the problems which make the South China Sea and the East China Sea not so calm as before." He warned that China would respond to any attempts by Vietnam, Japan or other neighbors to assert their own claims over the disputed islands and reefs. Fang Fenghui said "We do not create trouble but we are not afraid of trouble." In his reply, Gen. Martin Dempsey said  "Thank you for giving me the time to formulate my answer." General Dempsey then dismissed Fang's objections to the so-called "Pacific pivot" and said the U.S. was committed to the policy.