By Aaron Mehta
SINGAPORE — US Defense Secretary Ash Carter will spend the next week touring Asia, where he will focus on building up the maritime security capabilities of regional allies.
And while the Pentagon is laying out the trip as the next step in the so-called rebalance to the Pacific, Carter's travels are being watched closely by officials in China, which has been expanding its regional dominance in recent years.
The trip occurs amid rising tensions between China and other nations, including the US, over Chinese operations to create new islands in the South China Sea.
China has claimed those lands as part of its territory, which the Pentagon estimates to be about 2,000 acres in size, a move neighboring nations believe is a power grab to increase its control of the region. Some 1,500 of those acres have been developed since January, showing the rapid acceleration of China's activities.
Carter began the trip with a May 27 keynote at Joint Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, where he reaffirmed that the US will not be beholden to China's claims that these new islands represent territorial holds that must be respected under international law.
"First, we want a peaceful resolution of all disputes, and an immediate and lasting halt to land reclamation by any claimant," Carter said in his prepared remarks. "We also oppose any further militarization of disputed features.
"Second, and there should be no mistake: The United States will fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, as we do all around the world."
The latter was the most forceful comment Carter has made about China's claims of sovereignty in the region. He noted that China's disrespect for "international norms" is leading other nations in the Pacific to turn toward the US as an alternative.
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