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| Theodore Roosevelt underway in 1999 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT — Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Thursday visited a US aircraft carrier in the South China Sea, where he took a jab at Chinese actions that have been blamed for raising tension in the disputed waterway.
Carter flew to the USS Roosevelt — an enormous, nuclear-powered supercarrier — as it churned through international waters about 150-200 nautical miles south of where China is constructing artificial islands to underpin its expansive claims to the region.
"There's a lot of concern about Chinese behavior out here," Carter said aboard the ship.
He described the vessel's presence as "a sign of the critical role that United States military power plays in what is a very consequential region for the American future."
Washington and Beijing are engaged in a big-power face-off over the Chinese island-building program.
China's expansion of tiny islets — some of which were previously mere reefs — has included runways, fueling concerns of a future Chinese military presence far out into a sea that is a vital conduit for world trade.
The US has called for a halt to any island reclamation and said freedom of navigation must be preserved.
Carter arrived on the ship on an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft and spent about three hours speaking to sailors on the floating military airport, which has a crew of about 5,500.
He harkened back to the aircraft carrier's presidential namesake in stressing that the US was in the region to stay, and that China should become "part of the security system of Asia and not to stand apart from it".
Read the full story at DefenseNews