Pentagon chief needles China, visits naval ship plying contested waters
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT: With a key Asian ally at his side, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter made a subtle jab at China on Thursday by flying aboard an American aircraft carrier plying the contested waters of the South China Sea.
He and his Malaysian counterpart, Hishammuddin Hussein, watched US Navy fighter jets roar off the steel deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt as it sailed under a midday sun about 70 miles northwest of Borneo.
Carter said his visit and the presence of the warship should not be seen as a new twist to the US naval presence is Asia. But he made no bones about the signal he was sending by visiting amid rising tensions with China.
“If it’s being noted today in a special way, it’s because of the tension in this part of the world, mostly arising from disputes over land features in the South China Sea,” he said. “And most of the activity over the last year being perpetrated by China. There’s a lot of concern about Chinese behavior out here,” he told reporters traveling with him.
Last week a US Navy destroyer, the USS Lassen, challenged China’s claim to a 12-mile territorial limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands about 150 miles to 200 miles from where the Theodore Roosevelt was sailing Thursday.
The Lassen patrolled with about six or seven miles of the reef, according to Cmdr Robert C Francis Jr, skipper of the Lassen.
Carter, who was in Malaysia for two days of talks with Asian defense ministers, used the visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt to amplify the US view that China is making excessive claims that nearly all of the South China Sea as its territory.
Carter also signaled that the US will keep a strong naval presence in the region in support of nations seeking to preserve stability. He flew aboard the carrier in a V-22 Osprey from a base in the east Malaysian state of Sabah. The Pentagon is interested in making arrangements with Malaysia for more regular access to base for US aircraft carriers.
Malaysia is among several countries that claim a portion of the South China Sea and disagree with China’s building of artificial islands.