Top Phillipine officials fly to U.S. carrier in disputed South China Sea

[Tanuki]

https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/top-philippine-officials-fly-to-us-carrier-in-disputed-sea-1.457009#.WLs-7HRMHqB

The Philippine defense chief and two other Cabinet members on Saturday toured a U.S. aircraft carrier patrolling the disputed South China Sea on the invitation of the Navy, U.S. Embassy officials said.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II visited the USS Carl Vinson along with three Philippine security officials, said U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Molly Koscina.

The visit shows continuing top-level engagements between Philippine officials and the U.S. military despite Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's threat to scale back engagements with American forces while reaching out to China and Russia. There was no immediate reaction from China, which had opposed U.S. patrols in waters it has claimed virtually in its entirety.
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U.S. Navy officials told a small group of journalists who were flown to the Carl Vinson on Friday that the U.S. warship deployment was aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, a key waterway for global commerce and security."
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