U.S. warns China on militarization of South China Sea
Source: Reuters
Tue Mar 1, 2016 10:27pm EST
U.S. warns China on militarization of South China Sea
SAN FRANCISCO | BY ANDREA SHALAL
U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Tuesday warned China against "aggressive" actions in the South China Sea region, including the placement of surface-to-air missiles on a disputed island.
"China must not pursue militarization in the South China Sea," Carter said in a wide-ranging speech at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco. "Specific actions will have specific consequences."
Asked what the consequences could be, Carter told reporters the U.S. military was already increasing deployments to the Asia-Pacific region and would spend $425 million through 2020 to pay for more exercises and training with countries in the region that were unnerved by China's actions.
He said China's behavior had fueled trilateral agreements that would have been "unthinkable" even a few years ago.
The United States has carried out several freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea recent months, sailing near disputed islands to underscore its rights to navigate the seas. U.S. Navy officials say they plan to conduct more and increasingly complex exercises in the future.
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