For the second time in five months, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter landed aboard a US aircraft carrier in the bitterly contested South China Sea, sending a deliberate message to China on US power in the region.
With a key Asia Pacific ally at his side, Carter’s visit aboard the USS John C. Stennis underscores persistent complaints from the US and its allies in the region about China’s military buildup in the South China Sea.
Beijing has been creating artificial islands, and equipping many with runways, fighter aircraft and other weapons.
Photo: AP
Carter stood alongside Philippine Secretary of Defense Voltaire Gazmin as they watched US Navy fighter jets launch into the vivid blue skies, about 130km west of the island of Luzon.
Later in the massive gray ship’s hangar bay, Carter said his message in making the trip is that the US “intends to continue to play a role in keeping peace and stability in this region.”
He said the only reason the US’ presence in the region comes up as an issue is because of China’s behavior over the past year — and “that’s a question of Chinese behavior.”
“What’s new is not an American carrier in this region. What’s new is the context of tension which exists, which we want to reduce,” he said.
Carter spent about two hours on the ship, watching a number of fighters shoot into the sky off the flight deck, do circles around the Stennis and then land again, roaring to a stop as their tailhooks caught the arresting wire.
He later spoke to several hundred sailors in the hangar bay, including one who asked why the US allows China to participate in the large annual military exercise in the Asia Pacific.
He said the US wants to work with China, adding that Beijing should not isolate itself.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday issued a statement criticizing increased US military support for the Philippines, saying: “Military exchanges by relevant countries should not target third parties, much less support a few countries in challenging China’s sovereignty and security, inciting regional contradictions and sabotaging regional peace and stability.”
Beijing continued its rhetoric yesterday, with ministry spokesman Lu Kang (陸慷) saying: “Before the US returned to the Asia Pacific region, relevant countries had sought to control the disputes and handle the conflicts through friendly negotiations, despite the disputes having existed for over four decades.”
He told reporters during a press conference that if the US wants a peaceful solution to disputes, “I hope it can practice what it has preached, and that their actions can really help to peacefully solve the disputes.”
The Philippines is one of several countries, including Taiwan, that have overlapping claims with China.
The US has said it does not take a position on the claims, but wants them settled legally.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique