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               US Defense Chief Visits Warship in South China Sea

   by VOA News

   U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is visiting a U.S. aircraft carrier
   in the South China Sea Thursday, as tensions grow with China over
   Beijing's maritime expansion in the region.

   Carter is traveling with his Malaysian counterpart, Hishammuddin
   Hussein.

   The two will board the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt as
   it sails the South China Sea off the coast of Malaysia.

   The brief cruise by Carter and Hussein takes place days after a U.S.
   guided missile destroyer sailed within 22 kilometers of the Subi Reef
   in the Spratly Island archipelago.  Beijing launched a massive building
   project last year to transform the submerged reefs into islands that
   can support runways and other facilities, ignoring competing claims to
   the outcroppings by the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and other Asian
   nations.  The Obama administration says the warship's passage was a
   routine exercise aimed at protecting the open navigation of the seas.

   ''

   The dispute overshadowed Wednesday's meeting in Kuala Lumpur of ASEAN
   defense ministers, plus Carter and his counterparts from China,
   Australia, India and Japan.  The ministers failed to issue a
   traditional joint statement at the end of the forum, after China
   lobbied to block any mention of the contentious South China Sea.

   "I had no expectation that everyone would agree on the South China Sea
   or any other issue. That's the reason for this forum is to discuss
   these issues, so I had no expectation with the agreement there. With
   respect to the joint statement, that is something that ASEAN members
   discuss. Obviously they weren't able to reach consensus, and that
   reflects I think the level of concern that was reflected in the
   conversation about activities in the South China Sea," said Carter.

   ''


   China's Defense Ministry said it regretted a joint declaration was not
   issued, and accused "certain countries" outside of Southeast Asia of
   being responsible for the cancellation of a statement.

   The U.S. has called on China to stop building in the South China Sea,
   characterizing the activity as destabilizing for the region.  Chinese
   officials have defended the construction as a peaceful effort meant to
   aid shipping through the disputed waterway.
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   uth-china-sea/3037837.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/us-defense-chief-visits-warship-in-south-china-sea/3037837.html