Ash Carter tiptoes around China

Defense Secretary Ash Carter spoke at an international security conference in Singapore Saturday and said that China's military behavior in the South China Sea could lead to a "great wall of self-isolation," and perhaps a strong letter from Secretary of State John Kerry.

"There is growing anxiety in this region, and in this room, about China's activities on the seas, in cyberspace, and in the region's airspace," Carter said. "Indeed, in the South China Sea, China has taken some expansive and unprecedented actions, that have generated concerns about China's strategic intentions."

Carter also dismounted from his unicorn, named Barry, and called a future U.N. arbitration ruling on the Philippines challenge to China's claims in the contested region "an opportunity for China and the rest of the region to recommit to a principled future to renewed diplomacy, and lowering tensions, rather than raising them."

The SecDef defended the need to exercise its rights to fly and sail small military aircraft and ships near the coasts of other countries, including China's.

"What we stand for is the principle of rule of law and abiding by international law in the commons," Carter said. "It's not a focus on China," he lied, "it's a focus on principle."

Then he got back on his untrustworthy mount and rode off into the sunset.


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