Chinese Warships Dock In Florida As Ash Carter Waves “Big Stick” Around In South Pacific
by Tyler Durden
ZeroHedge.com
11/05/2015
Earlier this week, 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and eight other countries, including China and the US held a summit to discuss defense and security in the South Pacific.
Unofficially, Beijing and Washington reportedly couldn’t get past China’s Spratly sandcastles, which a US destroyer visited late last month in a show of force thinly disguised as a “freedom of navigation” exercise. Here’s WSJ:
High-level defense talks crumbled over growing territorial disputes in the South China Sea, as the U.S. sought to show strength and assert its role as a counterweight to China.
“We couldn’t reach a consensus,” said Malaysian Defense Minister Hishammuddin Hussein at the conclusion of the Asean Defense Ministers Meeting Plus, which brings together 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and eight other countries, including China and the U.S.
Mr. Hishammuddin denied that the rivalry between the U.S. and China was disrupting regional diplomacy, but behind the scenes other officials said the U.S. and China had been the main obstacles to any agreement.
The Rest…HERE
