Pentagon Chief Visits Carrier, Signals China on South Sea Ambitions

Pentagon chief Ash Carter arrived aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in one of the Marines’ high-tech V-22 Osprey transports on Thursday, November 5. Carter met Cmdr. Robert Francis Jr., skipper of the USS Lassen, which recently tested China’s territorial resolve in the South China Sea. While aboard the carrier, south of the disputed Spratly Islands, Carter made reference to the need for strong US sea power to bring stability to the region.

China loudly protested the Lassen’s late October pass-by of an artificial reef it built and claims as territory. Also, this week, a Chinese sub was reported to have tailed the US Navy’s 7th Fleet flagship, the USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier, while it was on maneuvers in the area. Credit: YouTube/US Navy