Defense chief focuses on Asia during speech in San Diego - The San Diego Union-Tribune: n a sweeping Thursday morning address from the flight deck of the supercarrier Carl Vinson, Defense Secretary Ash Carter vowed to protect a “burgeoning network” of Asian allies against an increasingly powerful and assertive China.
“China is rising, which is fine. But sometimes it’s behaving aggressively, which is not,” Carter said aboard the warship, which was docked at North Island Naval Air Station.
Although his tone often turned tough when talking about Beijing during his half-hour speech, Carter suggested that American military, economic and diplomatic efforts in Asia will be more like congenial containment than armed rollback.
“The rebalance is about the future. We’re not trying to stop or rewind the clock in the Pacific,” he said.
