US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter flew to a US aircraft carrier transiting the disputed South China Sea yesterday and blamed China for rising tension in the region on a visit sure to infuriate Beijing.
Mr Carter’s visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt with Malay-sian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein came just over a week after the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, challenged territorial limits around one of China’s man-made islands in the Spratly archipelago with a freedom-of-navigation patrol.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.
“Being here on the Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea is a symbol and signifies the stabilising presence that the United States has had in this part of the world for decades,” Mr Carter told reporters as the carrier sailed about 150 to 200 nautical miles from the southern tip of the Spratlys and about 70 nautical miles north of Malaysia.
What we oppose is waving the banner of freedom of navigation to push forward the militarisation of the South China Sea
Asked about the significance of his visit at such a time, he said: “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, and most of the activity over the last year being perpetrated by China.”
The warship was “conducting routine operations while transiting the South China Sea”, Mr Carter said on Wednesday after a meeting of defense ministers from Southeast Asia in Malaysia, a forum marred by the US-China disagreements over the sea lane.
Beijing has rebuked Washington over the patrol, while China’s navy commander has warned that a minor incident could spark war in the South China Sea if the US did not stop its “provocative acts”.
US Navy sailors salute as US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter (centre) arrives aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier in the South China Sea yesterday.“China has consistently respected and safeguarded all countries’ freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed under international law,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said yesterday when asked about the Mr Carter carrier visit before it took place.
“...What we oppose is waving the banner of freedom of navigation to push forward the militarisation of the South China Sea and even provoke and endanger other countries’ sovereignty and security interests. In this aspect, we hope the relevant actions and intentions of the US can be made open and above board.”
The US Navy plans to conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands in the South China Sea about twice a quarter to remind China and other countries about US rights under international law, a US defence official said on Monday. US defence officials have said Carter would not be on any warship carrying out such patrols.
“Teddy Roosevelt’s presence there and our visit is a symbol of our commitment to our rebalance [to Asia] and the importance of the Asia-Pacific to the United States,” Carter said on Wednesday.
In July, Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the US Pacific Fleet, was on board a Boeing P-8 surveillance plane as it carried out a seven-hour flight over the South China Sea.
Swift said his flight was routine, but it drew a rebuke from China. In May, Beijing called a US P-8 surveillance flight carrying a CNN team over the South China Sea “irresponsible and dangerous”.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (Asean) scrapped a joint statement to be issued after their meeting on Wednesday because they were unable to agree on whether it should refer to the South China Sea dispute or not.