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 Carter's visit to the USS Theodore Roosevelt with Malaysian
Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein came just over a week after
the USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, challenged territorial
limits around one of China's man-made islands in the Spratly
archipelago with a so-called freedom-of-navigation patrol.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5
trillion in global trade passes every year. Vietnam, Malaysia,
Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.
"Being here on the Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea is a
symbol and signifies the stabilizing presence that the United States
has had in this part of the world for decades," Carter told
reporters as the carrier sailed about 150 to 200 nautical miles from
the southern tip of the Spratlys and about 70 nautical miles north
of Malaysia.
Asked about the significance of his visit at such a time, he said:
"If it's being noted today in a special way, it's because of the
tension in this part of the world, mostly arising from disputes over
land features in the South China Sea, and most of the activity over
the last year being perpetrated by China."
 The warship was "conducting routine operations while transiting the
South China Sea", Carter said on Wednesday after a meeting of
defense ministers from Southeast Asia in Malaysia, a forum marred by
the U.S.-China disagreements over the sea lane.
Beijing has rebuked Washington over the patrol while China's navy
commander has warned that a minor incident could spark war in the
South China Sea if the United States did not stop its "provocative
acts".
"China has consistently respected and safeguarded all countries'
freedom of navigation and overflight enjoyed under international
law," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on
Thursday when asked about the Carter carrier visit before it took
place.
"...What we oppose is waving the banner of freedom of navigation to
push forward the militarization of the South China Sea and even
provoke and endanger other countries' sovereignty and security
interests. In this aspect, we hope the relevant actions and
intentions of the U.S. can be made open and above board."
The U.S. Navy plans to conduct patrols within 12 nautical miles of
artificial islands in the South China Sea about twice a quarter to
remind China and other countries about U.S. rights under
international law, a U.S. defense official said on Monday.
U.S. defense officials have said Carter would not be on any warship
carrying out such patrols.
"Teddy Roosevelt's presence there and our visit is a symbol of our
commitment to our rebalance (to Asia) and the importance of the
Asia-Pacific to the United States," Carter said on Wednesday.
In July, Admiral Scott Swift, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet,
was on board a Boeing P-8 surveillance plane as it carried out a
seven-hour flight over the South China Sea.
Swift said his flight was routine, but it drew a rebuke from China.
In May, Beijing called a U.S. P-8 surveillance flight carrying a CNN
team over the South China Sea "irresponsible and dangerous".
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NO CONSENSUS
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) scrapped
a joint statement to be issued after their meeting on Wednesday
because they were unable to agree on whether it should refer to the
South China Sea dispute or not.
The United States had lobbied for inclusion of a reference, while
China had argued it had no place in the statement. Carter and his
Chinese counterpart attended the meeting.
U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes said Washington
believed that the U.S. commitment to freedom of navigation was
welcomed by ASEAN.
"People want the United States to be present, people want to know
that the United States is going to be a stabilizing force ... but
they also want us to have a good relationship with China," said
Rhodes, speaking at the Center for Strategic and International
Studies in Washington.
The United States says it takes no position on the South China Sea
claims. China denies it's impeding freedom of navigation or
overflight in the waterway.
Euan Graham, director of the International Security Program at the
Lowy Institute for International Policy in Sydney, said the fact
Hishammuddin was with Carter spoke to the Southeast Asian solidarity
with Washington that the United States wanted to project.
"But in the actual demonstration of freedom of navigation, I think
the reverse question currently applies: Is the U.S. doing enough?"
Graham asked.
"It's not so much the provocative statement of the photo opportunity
of landing on the deck of the 'big stick' ... If you dig into this
carefully enough, you will find, I think, extreme caution in how the
U.S. is going about the freedom of navigation assertions."
Last week's patrol by the USS Lassen, which has since joined the
Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group, was the first such mission
close to China's holdings in the Spratlys since 2012.
The Lassen's commanding officer, Robert C Francis Jr, said the ship
came within six to seven nautical miles of the nearest Chinese
formation during the patrol.
(Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Additional reporting by David
Brunnstrom in Washington, Matt Siegel in Sydney and Ben Blanchard in
Beijing; Editing by Dean Yates and Nick Macfie)
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