Defense Secretary Ash Carter today toured the USS Theodore
Roosevelt in the South China Sea and expressed concern about China's activities
in those waters.
Carter said the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier’s presence is a "symbol
and a sign of the critical role the United States' military power plays in what
is a very consequential region for the American future."
The defense secretary also commented on regional tensions resulting
from disputes over land features in the South China Sea. Several Asia-Pacific
countries, including China, are involved in those disputes.
"There is a lot of concern about Chinese behavior out here,"
he said.
Those concerns, Carter said, were discussed yesterday at the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations Defense Ministers’ Meeting - Plus in
Malaysia’s capital city, Kuala Lumpur.
"Many countries in the region are coming to the United States
and asking us to do more with them so that we can keep the peace out
here," he said.
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Carter toured the aircraft carrier with Malaysian Defense Minister
Hishammuddin Hussein. Visiting the ship with his Malaysian counterpart, Carter said,
indicates the demand for American presence in the Asia-Pacific region.
Stability in the Asia-Pacific region is important to the United
States economically, Carter said, noting that half of the world's commerce
comes from or passes through that part of the world.
The U.S. military's rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region is
intended to maintain and further promote peace and prosperity in the region,
according to Carter.
The USS Roosevelt, with about 3,000 crew members, is operating in
the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations as part of a worldwide deployment en
route to its new homeport in San Diego. The move is part of a three-carrier
homeport shift.
Carter, who is on an eight-day trip focusing on the Asia-Pacific
rebalance, will travel on to Hawaii, then California, before returning to the
Pentagon.