US defence secretary visits carrier in disputed waterway

In a symbolic swipe at China’s muscular moves in the South China Sea, US Defence Secretary Ashton Carter visited an American aircraft carrier in the disputed waterway.

Carter, who was in Malaysia for two days of talks with Asian defence ministers, used the visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt to amplify the US view that China is making excessive claims that nearly all of the South China Sea as its territory.

Carter also signalled that the US will keep a strong naval presence in the region in support of nations seeking to preserve stability. He flew aboard the carrier in a V-22 Osprey from a base in the east Malaysian state of Sabah, which is situated on the northern portion of Borneo.

In announcing his visit on Wednesday, Carter called it a “symbol of our commitment” to focusing more on US interests in the Asia-Pacific following more than a decade of wars in the Middle East.

Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein accompanied Carter to the carrier, highlighting US efforts to strengthen defence partnerships in the Asia-Pacific.

Malaysia is among several countries that claim a portion of the South China Sea and disagree with China’s building of artificial islands.

The Pentagon also is interested in making arrangements with Malaysia for more regular access to the naval base at Sabah for US aircraft carriers.

It is not unusual for a defence secretary to visit an aircraft carrier. But Carter’s visit drew extra attention because of the ship’s location and the tensions surrounding China’s reclamation work, which Adm Harry Harris, head of US forces in the Pacific, has likened to building a “great wall of sand” with the potential for confrontations to escalate into armed conflict.

Carter and Hishammuddin were expected to observe the carrier’s fighter jet operations and be briefed by Navy officers on their current and recent manoeuvres.

The “TR,” as the carrier is commonly called in the Navy, is the flagship of a strike group of ships that includes a cruiser, the USS Normandy, as well as three destroyers; the USS Winston S Churchill, the USS Farragut and the USS Forrest Sherman.

The strike group had been deployed in the Middle East earlier this year and most recently conducted exercises in the Indian Ocean with Indian and Japanese naval forces. In late October the TR made port visit at Singapore. It is heading to its new homeport at San Diego.

Last week the US sent a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, on a brief patrol inside the 12-nautical-mile radius that China claims as its territorial waters around Subi Reef, an artificial island built by the Chinese. The Chinese denounced the move as provocative and illegal.