The US-China ties will be “complex” as there remain areas of concern including in the disputed South China Sea, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter said as he underlined American military’s presence in the region and its role in upholding the rules-based navigation system.
“It is clear that the US-China relationship will be complex as we continue to balance our competition and cooperation,” Carter told the Senate Armed Services Committee.
He said there are opportunities to improve understanding and reduce risks with China. “We’ve agreed to four confidence— building agreements, including one meant to prevent dangerous air-to-air encounters. But there remain areas of concern.”
The top Pentagon official said the US and virtually all nations in the region were deeply concerned about the pace and scope of land-reclamation in the South China Sea, the prospect of further militarisation, as well as the potential for these to increase the risk of conflict among claimant states.
China claims most of the South China Sea, but Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have rival claims. The US has decades-old military presence in the region and it has been been instrumental in upholding the rules-based international system.