US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he would visit an American aircraft carrier in the South China Sea on Thursday as US-Chinese tensions over the waterway escalate.
Speaking after a regional summit Wednesday, Carter said he would fly out to the nuclear-powered USS Theodore Roosevelt, which "is conducting routine operations while transiting the South China Sea".
Carter's visit could increase discord between Washington and Beijing over Chinese claims to virtually the entire Sea, and its attempts to reinforce those claims by turning reefs and tiny islets into full-fledged islands through reclamation.
Last week Washington pressed its right to freedom of navigation by sending the guided missile destroyer USS Lassen to within 12 nautical miles of at least one of the artificial islets in the Spratlys chain, angering China.
Earlier Wednesday Carter attended an Asia-Pacific defence ministers' meeting in Malaysia that ended on a sour note as the United States and China butted heads over whether a final joint statement should mention the South China Sea.
"We could not reach a consensus on a joint declaration," Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein told reporters.
Carter said he had gone into the summit with "no expectation" there would be an agreement.
That illustrates "the level of concern that was reflected in the conversation about activities in the South China Sea", he said, noting that all countries he met with raised the issue.
"It was a persistent topic," he said. "To me, that says that's something we all need to pay attention to."
But both China and the United States pointed the finger at each other.
The US side said several Southeast Asian defence ministers opposed China's demand that the South China Sea be left out of any statement.
A US official said the United States felt that "no statement is better than one that avoids the important issue of China's reclamation and militarisation in the South China Sea".
China's claims to almost all the waterway are widely disputed.
Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei and Taiwan also have various claims, some overlapping, though none are as extensive as Beijing's.
"We urge all claimants to permanently halt land reclamation, stop the construction of new facilities and cease further militarisation of disputed maritime features," Carter said.
The Sea has long been viewed as a potential flashpoint, and the Chinese island-building has heightened fears of conflict.
The work includes runways and other large-scale development, making the islands potentially capable of hosting military personnel and hardware.
The US official stressed that the Roosevelt would be far from any of the reclaimed Chinese "islands" at the time of Carter's visit, and the ship was not conducting the sort of freedom of navigation cruise performed by the USS Lassen.
'Bottom line' warning
Carter will be joined on the visit by Hishammuddin. They are expected to spend a couple of hours onboard.
"The Teddy Roosevelt's presence there, and our visit, is a symbol of our commitment to our 'rebalance' and the importance of the Asia-Pacific for the United States," Carter said, referring to America's strategic shift to the region.
Wednesday's annual dialogue in Malaysia included defence ministers from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and several regional partners such as Carter and China's Defence Minister Chang Wanquan.
China's state-run Xinhua news agency quoted the country's defence ministry expressing "regret" over the failure to agree on a final text.
It said agreement had been reached with ASEAN countries on the wording but "individual countries outside the region" – an apparent reference to the United States – attempted to "forcefully add" new content.
Carter told Chang in a bilateral meeting late Tuesday that the United States would continue sailing in waters China claims.
Chang responded by warning that there was a "bottom line" below which Beijing would act to defend the islets, according to a US account of the talks, but the US delegation told reporters this would not deter future warship sailings.
China and its allies in ASEAN have previously opposed declarations at the grouping's meetings expressing concern at Beijing's maritime conduct.
But recent ASEAN declarations have increasingly made clear its worries over China's actions.
AFP
Wed Nov 04 2015
An aerial photo taken though a glass window of a Philippine military plane shows the alleged on-going land reclamation by China on mischief reef in the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea on May 11, 2015. - REUTERS/Ritchie B. Tongo/Pool
'Tiada kartel dalam Lembaga Maktab Mahmud'
Video yang ditularkan semula itu sudah disunting dan diubah suai daripada video sebenar serta tiada kakitangan yang diturunkan pangkat seperti yang dinyatakan.
KESUMA ikrar laksana latihan kemahiran bernilai tinggi kepada rakyat Malaysia
Kementerian Sumber Manusia (KESUMA) berikrar akan berusaha sebaik mungkin untuk pelaksanaan latihan kemahiran bernilai tinggi kepada rakyat Malaysia.
Stres tempat kerja wujud, perlu kemahiran tanganinya
Stres di tempat kerja sememangnya wujud, tetapi perlukan kemahiran untuk menanganinya.
Pakar Psikologi Kaunseling UPNM, Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Fadzil Che Din berpandangan jika stress tidak ditangani ia akan menyebabkan seseorang individu merasa tertekan yang boleh menjurus kepada masalah kesihatan mental.
Pakar Psikologi Kaunseling UPNM, Prof Datuk Dr Mohd Fadzil Che Din berpandangan jika stress tidak ditangani ia akan menyebabkan seseorang individu merasa tertekan yang boleh menjurus kepada masalah kesihatan mental.
Boleh guna kad debit & kredit di semua kaunter khidmat pelanggan - Rapid Rail
Pengguna perkhidmatan pengangkutan awam rel kini boleh menggunakan kad debit atau kredit di semua kaunter khidmat pelanggan Rapid Rail Sdn Bhd (Rapid Rail), bermula Selasa.
Sistem pendidikan ketinggalan, MASA gesa kerajaan tidak bersikap pasif
Kerajaan digesa untuk mengambil tindakan segera dan tidak hanya bersikap pasif terhadap laporan Bank Dunia bertajuk “Bending Bamboo Shoots: Strengthening Foundational Skills” yang memberi gambaran membimbangkan tentang sistem pendidikan tahap awal di Malaysia.
Gaji penjawat awam akan dinaikkan dengan kadar lebih 13 peratus
Kenaikan gaji Penjawat Awam akan meningkat lebih 13 peratus yang akan melibatkan peruntukan lebih RM10 billion.
Perkara ini akan dilaksanakan bermula Disember 2024.
#AWANInews
Perkara ini akan dilaksanakan bermula Disember 2024.
#AWANInews
Kepentingan pekerja Semenanjung, Sabah dan Sarawak diselaraskan
Kerajaan Sabah dan Sarawak telah bersetuju untuk membuat pindaan ke atas Ordinan Buruh Sabah (Labour Ordinance Cap 67) dan Sarawak (Ordinan Buruh Sarawak - Bab 76) untuk diselaraskan dengan Akta Kerja 1955 yang terpakai di Semenanjung Malaysia.
RUU Ordinan Buruh Sabah (Pindaan) 2024 dan RUU Ordinan Buruh Sarawak akan dibentangkan dalam sidang Parlimen akan datang.
#AWANInews
RUU Ordinan Buruh Sabah (Pindaan) 2024 dan RUU Ordinan Buruh Sarawak akan dibentangkan dalam sidang Parlimen akan datang.
#AWANInews
Pendapatan penjawat awam lebih RM2,000 sebulan di bawah SSPA baharu
Pada masa ini, jumlah pendapatan minimum, meliputi gaji dan elaun tetap penjawat awam sedia ada adalah RM1,795 sebulan.
Di bawah SSPA yang sedang diperincikan, Kerajaan akan meningkatkan gaji bagi memastikan jumlah pendapatan minimum penjawat awam melebihi RM2,000 sebulan.
#AWANInews
Di bawah SSPA yang sedang diperincikan, Kerajaan akan meningkatkan gaji bagi memastikan jumlah pendapatan minimum penjawat awam melebihi RM2,000 sebulan.
#AWANInews
Sistem Saraan Perkhidmatan Awam yang baharu tidak terpakai untuk semua
Sistem Saraan Perkhidmatan Awam yang baharu melihat aspek menyeluruh dan tidak terpakai untuk semua.
"Kalau rekod kerja tidak membanggakan, malas, sering lambat, tidak memberi tumpuan yang baik, mereka akan dipantau dan tidak diberi ganjaran seperti yang dijanjikan," tegas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
#AWANInews
"Kalau rekod kerja tidak membanggakan, malas, sering lambat, tidak memberi tumpuan yang baik, mereka akan dipantau dan tidak diberi ganjaran seperti yang dijanjikan," tegas Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
#AWANInews
Pemimpin kerajaan perlu akur dengan SSPA
Mana-mana pemimpin yang memegang tampuk kepimpinan negara, perlu akur bahawa penjawat awam perlu diberikan sokongan dengan menambahbaik sistem saraan perkhidmatan awam (SSPA).
Serangan udara AS bunuh tiga pemimpin kanan Daish
Dua daripada mereka terlibat dalam serangan keganasan di Paris pada 2015.
Malaysia terus tingkatkan hubungan pertahanan yang kukuh dengan Amerika, China - Hishammuddin
Malaysia telah mengesahkan meneruskan hubungan pertahanan yang kukuh dengan dua kuasa besar, iaitu Amerika Syarikat (Amerika) dan China.
Hishammuddin dijadual sertai Setiausaha Pertahanan AS naiki kapal perang AS
Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein dijadual menyertai Setiausaha Pertahanan Amerika Syarikat Ashton Carter dalam pelayaran menaiki kapal perang USS Theodore Roosevelt di Laut China Selatan esok.