Defense Chief Ash Carter Postpones Visit to China
Defense Chief Ash Carter Postpones Visit to China by Gordon Lubold and Jeremy Page, Wall Street Journal
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has scrubbed a planned visit this month to Beijing amid rising tensions between the U.S. and China over the disputed waters of the South China Sea.
Mr. Carter, who publicly accepted an invitation from Beijing in November, was to travel there during a trip to Asia this month.
But the government in Beijing was informed several weeks ago that Mr. Carter’s trip would not include a stop there, according to U.S. officials.
During the trip, Mr. Carter will visit the Philippines—one of China’s rival claimants in the South China Sea—to observe joint military exercises and finalize a deal allowing U.S. forces to be stationed there for the first time since 1992. He also will go to India, which has boosted defense ties with the U.S. in recent years, due largely to concerns about China…