U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is to visit the American aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt as it passes through South China Sea on Thursday, Reuters cites an unnamed U.S. defense official on Wednesday. Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein plans to accompany Carter to the carrier, according to Reuters.
"The Teddy Roosevelt's presence there and our visit is a signal of our commitment to our rebalance and the importance of the Asia Pacific to the United States," Carter said Wednesday during a news conference at the conclusion of a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Last week the U.S. sent a guided-missile destroyer, the USS Lassen, within 12-nautical-mile of islands in South China Sea.
China's Defense Minister Chang Wanquan on Wednesday called on certain countries to stop playing up the issue of freedom of navigation in the South China Sea since there has never been a problem.
