China's navy on Tuesday denied, in a roundabout way, that it snubbed Japan by not inviting it to join in a naval fleet review as part of an international symposium, saying the two events had never been linked in the first place. U.S. officials have said the United States was invited to join the parade of ships as part of activities linked to the Western Pacific Naval Symposium, which is being held this month in Qingdao, an eastern port city. Japan said it would participate in the regular symposium, but confirmed it had not been invited to the fleet review. But China's navy appeared to dispute the view that the fleet review had been scheduled as part of the symposium, in a statement on its official website.