Gates spoke to reporters during a stopover here on his way to Singapore where he was expected to raise US concerns over the increases in Chinese military spending, the size and scope of which is secret.

"One of the central themes of everyone who is talking to the Chinese is more transparency," Gates said.

"Tell us more about where you're headed, what are your intentions," he said.

"That's the real issue. The fact that they are building capacity is just a fact. What they plan or do not plan to do with it is what's of interest."

An annual Pentagon report on Chinese military power released last week detailed Beijing's drive to acquire modern warships, aircraft and missiles in what appeared to be part of a longer-term strategy to deny US forces access to the region.

Although Taiwan is the immediate focus of China's overhaul of its military, Beijing appears to be amassing military capabilities to project power well beyond the nationalist-rule island, driven in part by a desire to protect energy supply lines.

"I think there is no doubt that a significant impetus in Chinese foreign policy right now is driven by their desire to lock in energy supplies for the long term," Gates said.

Admiral Tim Keating, the top US commander in the Pacific, recently traveled to China for meetings with senior leaders.

"An area we emphasized in discussions with our Chinese hosts is developing a better understanding of intentions so as to avoid miscalculation and misunderstanding," Keating said.

"If there aren't open channels of communication, if there aren't better ways of communicating intent ... the likelihood of a miscalculation increases," he said.

China's military buildup comes at a time when the United States is already heavily engaged in Iraq and Afghanistan, prompting concerns among some military leaders that it would be unable to respond to contingencies with US ground forces.

But Gates, who is making his first visit to East Asia since assuming office six months ago, said he will reaffirm US commitment to the region in a speech Saturday to the Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual gathering of senior defense and security officials and experts from around the region.

"One of the central messages of our participation in the conference is that while we are fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global war on terror, we have no intention of neglecting Asia," he said.

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