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| US SecDef Ash Carter |
By Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is set to embark on a swing through Asia, days after the newest wave of tensions between US and Chinese naval forces began to rise.
Carter's trip, which has been planned for some time, will take him through South Korea and Malaysia before returning to the US. The visits coincide with a number of major conferences, including the 47th Security Consultative Meeting between the US and Republic of Korea held in Seoul and the ASEAN Conference in Kuala Lampur.
His trip will loop back through California in time for the Reagan National Defense Forum on Nov. 7 near Los Angeles, where he will be the keynote speaker.
The trip also comes amid another round of exchanges by the US and China in the South China Sea.
On Monday, the US sent the destroyer Lassen within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built by China on a reef in the South China Sea's Spratly Islands. The artificial island is one of at least seven construction projects intended to cement Chinese sovereignty claims in waters where several nations have territorial disputes. The US contends that its ships merely continue to navigate international waters.
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