US defence chief Ash Carter vows to sharpen ‘military edge’ in Asia with more lethal subs and undersea drones
The Pentagon chief described what he called the next phase of a US pivot to Asia – a rebalancing of American security commitments after years of heavy focus on the Middle East
US Defence Secretary Ash Carter said the United States would “sharpen our military edge” in Asia and the Pacific to remain a dominant power in a region feeling the effects of China’s rising military might.
Carter made the pledge in a speech aboard the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in port in San Diego on Thursday.
The Pentagon chief described what he called the next phase of a US pivot to Asia – a rebalancing of American security commitments after years of heavy focus on the Middle East.
The United States will continue to sharpen our military edge so we remain the most powerful military in the region and the security partner of choice
His speech, aimed at reassuring allies unsettled by China’s behaviour in the South China Sea, came three days after he made remarks at a nuclear missile base in North Dakota about rebuilding the nuclear force. Those comments prompted a strong reaction from the Russian foreign ministry, which issued a statement saying it had interpreted Carter’s statement as a declared intention to lower the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
He said the Pentagon would make its attack submarines more lethal and spend more to build undersea drones that could operate in shallower waters where submarines could not.
“The United States will continue to sharpen our military edge so we remain the most powerful military in the region and the security partner of choice,” he said. “We’re going to have a few surprises as well”, he said, describing them only as “leap-ahead investments”.
Beijing sometimes appears to want to pick and choose which principles it wants to benefit from and which it prefers to try to undercut
