A Navy officer aboard a mammoth U.S. aircraft carrier brimming with F18 fighter jets said Saturday that American forces would continue to patrol the South China Sea wherever "international law allows us" when asked if China's newly built islands could restrain them in the disputed waters.
Lt. Cmdr. Tim Hawkins told The Associated Press on board the USS Carl Vinson that the Navy has carried out routine patrols at sea and on air in the strategic waters for 70 years to promote regional security and guarantee the unimpeded flow of trade that's crucial for Asian and U.S. economies.
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A Navy officer aboard a mammoth U.S. aircraft carrier brimming with F18 fighter jets said Saturday that American forces would continue to patrol the South China Sea wherever "international law allows us" when asked if China's newly built islands could restrain them in the disputed waters.
The U.S. Navy invited journalists on board the 35-year-old carrier, which was packed with 72 aircraft, including F18 Hornets, assault helicopters and surveillance aircraft. President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to back down from what he said was a Philippine foreign policy that was steeply oriented toward the U.S., but has allowed considerable engagements with his country's treaty ally while reviving once-frosty ties with China.
U.S. Navy officials flew some of Duterte's Cabinet officials and journalists on board the Carl Vinson for a brief tour while it was patrolling the South China Sea on Wednesday.
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have long contested ownership of the South China Sea, which straddles one of the world's busiest sea lanes and is believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and gas.
Washington stakes no claims in the disputed region, but has declared that the peaceful resolution of the long-raging disputes, along with the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, are in its national interest.
"International law allows us to operate here, allows us to fly here, allows us to train here, allows us to sail here, and that's what we're doing and we're going to continue to do that," Hawkins said on the flight deck of the 95,000-ton warship, which anchored at Manila Bay while on a Philippine visit.
Foreign and local media are given a tour aboard the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier anchors off Manila, Philippines, for a five-day port call along with guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Lt. Cmdr. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
The U.S. Navy invited journalists on board the 35-year-old carrier, which was packed with 72 aircraft, including F18 Hornets, assault helicopters and surveillance aircraft. President Rodrigo Duterte has tried to back down from what he said was a Philippine foreign policy that was steeply oriented toward the U.S., but has allowed considerable engagements with his country's treaty ally while reviving once-frosty ties with China.
With fighter jets in the background, Lt. Cmdr. Tim Hawkins talks to the media on board the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier anchors off Manila, Philippines, for a five-day port call along with guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
U.S. Navy officials flew some of Duterte's Cabinet officials and journalists on board the Carl Vinson for a brief tour while it was patrolling the South China Sea on Wednesday.
A U.S. Marine stands guard on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier anchors off Manila, Philippines, for a five-day port call along with guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Lt. Cmdr. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei have long contested ownership of the South China Sea, which straddles one of the world's busiest sea lanes and is believed to sit atop vast deposits of oil and gas.
U.S. military aircraft sit on the deck of the USS Carl Vinson aircraft carrier anchors off Manila, Philippines, for a five-day port call along with guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy, Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. Lt. Cmdr. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
Washington stakes no claims in the disputed region, but has declared that the peaceful resolution of the long-raging disputes, along with the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, are in its national interest.
Seen behind a Philippines national flag, the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson anchors off Manila, Philippines, during a five-day port call along with guided-missile destroyer USS Michael Murphy Saturday, Feb. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
TOURMALET PASS, France (AP) — France’s president hosted China’s leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees on Tuesday for private meetings after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. It is meant to be a reciprocal gesture after Xi took Macron last year to the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where the Chinese president’s father once lived.
Snow coated nearby slopes after new snowfall overnight, and security was tightened around the area. The winding roads up to the pass were blocked by authorities Tuesday for dozens of kilometers.
Foggy weather, falling snow and brisk winds obscured the view of the dramatic Tourmalet Pass. Macron and Xi — together with their wives, Brigitte Macron and Peng Liyuan — visited a mountain restaurant. Before lunch, protected from the elements by umbrellas, they watched a traditional folk dance performance on the terrace. The leaders could be seen eating ham and blueberry pie, among other local specialties.
Macron presented Xi with a yellow Tour de France jersey — with the Tourmalet Pass one of the most famous climbs of the race — a woolen blanket made in the Pyrenees and a bottle of Armagnac, French broadcaster BFMTV said.
The mountain meetings come after a grandiose state visit by Xi on Monday that included a ceremonial welcome at the monument housing Napoleon’s tomb and a state dinner at the Elysee Palace with celebrities and magnates.
Xi left France from the Pyrenees on Tuesday evening by plane, in a departure ceremony that included military fanfare.
The Elysee said Tuesday it welcomed the dialogue between Macron and Xi, which was “friendly but also very frank," according to BFMTV. The broadcaster also noted that Macron had brought up the issue of human rights with the Chinese president, including “a few individual cases”.
Xi is on a trip to Europe aimed at reinvigorating relations at a time of global tensions. He heads next to Serbia and Hungary.
The last day of his visit to France came as authorities were searching the European Parliament office of a prominent German far-right lawmaker in Brussels on Tuesday, Germany’s top prosecutor’s office said.
Maximilian Krah, the Alternative for Germany party’s top candidate in the upcoming European Parliament election, has been under scrutiny after an assistant of his was arrested last month on suspicion of spying for China.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, second right, and his wife Peng Liyuan, right, French President Emmanuel Macron, holding a Tour de Francecycling race jersey and his wife Brigitte Macron, left, discuss in a restaurant, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees mountains. French president is hosting China's leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees for private meetings, after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his wife Peng Liyuan watch folklore dancers, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees mountains. French president is hosting China's leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees for private meetings, after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his wife Peng Liyuan watch folklore dancers, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees mountains. French president is hosting China's leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees for private meetings, after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron, Chinese President Xi Jinping, and his wife Peng Liyuan watch folklore dancers, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees moutains. French president is hosting China's leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees for private meetings, after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan, right, enjoy a drink with French President Emmanuel Macron in a restaurant, Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Tourmalet pass, in the Pyrenees mountains. French president is hosting China's leader at a remote mountain pass in the Pyrenees for private meetings, after a high-stakes state visit in Paris dominated by trade disputes and Russia's war in Ukraine. French President Emmanuel Macron made a point of inviting Chinese President Xi Jinping to the Tourmalet Pass near the Spanish border, where Macron spent time as a child visiting his grandmother. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, Pool)
French President Emmanuel Macron, right, toasts with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
LVMH luxury group CEO Bernard Arnault and his daughter Delphine arrive for a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French film director Luc Besson arrives to attend a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French actress Sophie Marceau arrives to attend a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Salma Hayek and François-Henri Pinault, center, CEO of luxury group Kering, arrive to attend a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
A rainbow is seen from the Elysee Palace as French President Emmanuel Macron hosts a state diner for China's President Xi Jinping, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Architect Jean Nouvel, left, arrives for a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
Singer Mireille Mathieu arrives for a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French musician Jean-Michel Jarre and Chinese actress Gong Li arrive for a state diner hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron for China's President Xi Jinping at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a toast at a state dinner hosted for Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron pose with China's. President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan before a state diner at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus)
French President Emmanuel Macron talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping during a a state dinner at the Elysee Palace in Paris, Monday, May 6, 2024. French President Emmanuel Macron put trade disputes and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts on top of the agenda for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, who arrived in France for a two-day state visit opening his European tour. (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)
