US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter on Saturday called for greater cooperation with China as Beijing pursues the rapid development of its military.
“America wants to expand military-to-military agreements with China to focus not only on risk reduction, but also on practical cooperation,” Carter said at a security summit in Singapore.
“Our two militaries can also work together, bilaterally or as part of the principled security network, to meet a number of challenges—like terrorism and piracy—in the Asia-Pacific and around the world.”
Beijing risks creating a “Great Wall of self-isolation” if it continues its military expansion across the South China Sea, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Saturday.
“China’s actions in the South China Sea are isolating it, at a time when the entire region is coming together and networking,” Carter told a high-profile security summit in Singapore.
“Unfortunately, if these actions continue, China could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation.”
The United States marked the 27th anniversary of China’s crackdown on pro-democracy protests in Tiananmen Square on Friday with a call for Beijing to end human rights abuses.
Just days before the start of the annual US-China strategic dialogue, the State Department urged China to allow peaceful commemorations of the incident.
“The United States government continues to call for a full public accounting of those killed, detained or missing,” spokesman Mark Toner said.