Defense Secretary Ash Carter — for now — is resisting congressional calls to uninvite China from the biggest naval exercise in the world, known as RIMPAC.

In a July 16 letter to Senate Armed Services Committee chairman John McCain, Carter goes to some lengths to avoid offending China, on the one hand, and, on the other, to placate McCain and the committee’s ranking member, John Reed, who don’t want China taking part in RIMPAC 2016. The two defense lawmakers wrote Carter a May 21 letter about this. In his response to the SASC leaders, Carter says China “is engaging in some conduct that is causing us to respond and to draw closer to the many allies and partners that share our concern.”