Carter: US Doesn’t Seek Conflict With Russia, But Will Defend its Interests and Allies
(CNSNews.com) – Russia seems intent on eroding the principles that have underpinned the international order for decades, and the United States, while not seeking conflict, will act to defend its interests and allies in the face of Moscow’s provocations, Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said at the weekend.
“We do not seek a cold, let alone a hot war with Russia,” Carter said in an address at the annual Reagan National Defense Forum at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif. “We do not seek to make Russia an enemy. But make no mistake; the United States will defend our interests, and our allies, the principled international order, and the positive future it affords us all.”
Picking up on the forum’s theme – “peace through strength in a time of transition and turbulence” – Carter said Russia was a source of “turbulence” in today’s world, while China’s rise was driving “transition” in the Asia-Pacific.
While neither was capable of overturning the international order that has served the U.S. and many other countries well for decades – an order involving the peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom from coercion and respect for state sovereignty – both Russia and China present different challenges to it, he said.
“In the face of Russia’s provocations and China’s rise, we must embrace innovative approaches to protect the United States and strengthen that international order.”
Carter painted a somber picture of Russia’s actions in Europe and the Middle East, and what he described as its “nuclear saber-rattling.”
“In Europe, Russia has been violating sovereignty in Ukraine [1] and Georgia [2] and actively trying to intimidate the Baltic states [3],” he said. “Meanwhile, in Syria [4], Russia is throwing gasoline on an already dangerous fire, prolonging a civil war that fuels the very extremism Russia claims to oppose.”
“At sea, in the air, in space, and in cyberspace, Russian actors have engaged in challenging activities,” Carter continued. “And, most disturbing, Moscow’s nuclear saber-rattling [5] raises questions about Russia’s leaders’ commitment to strategic stability, their respect for norms against the use of nuclear weapons, and whether they respect the profound caution nuclear-age leaders showed with regard to the brandishing of nuclear weapons.”
Carter recalled that the 40th American president’s response to the Soviet Union had been “both strong and balanced.”
“Reagan made bold, innovative moves to strengthen the nation’s leverage, like his advances in missile defense, but he was also willing to negotiate when he thought it would help,” he said, adding that the combination of those two concepts had helped the U.S. to win the Cold War.
Carter said the U.S. today was also taking a “strong and balanced” approach towards President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, “to deter Russia’s aggression, and to help reduce the vulnerability of allies and partners.”
The U.S. response included modernizing the nuclear arsenal, ensuring the deterrent remains effective, safe and secure; and investing in technologies relevant to Russia’s provocations.
Carter said these included a new long-range bomber, and innovation in laser, electronic warfare, space and cyberspace technologies – as well as “a few surprising ones that I really can’t describe here.”
“We’re updating and advancing our operational plans for deterrence and defense given Russia’s changed behavior,” he said, adding that other aspects of the U.S. government response to Moscow’s activities include information campaigns and sanctions, which he said have had an impact on Russia.
On the “balance” side of the equation, Carter said the U.S. “will continue to cooperate when and where our and Russia’s interests align,” citing the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and the – long-stalled – nuclear talks with North Korea.
He even held out the possibility that Russia may have a constructive part to play in bringing about an end to the Syrian conflict.
“The United States will continue to hold out the possibility that Russia will assume the role of responsible power in the international order, a direction they seemed headed for much of the post-Cold War era,” he said.
‘The risk of miscalculation or conflict’
Carter was speaking fresh from a tour of the Asia-Pacific that included security talks in South East Asia and a visit to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt in the South China Sea, where China’s provocative actions in support of sovereignty claims have sparked unease in the region.
A U.S. Navy destroyer recently carried out a “freedom of navigation” patrol within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands which Beijing has constructed in waterway, where half a dozen countries are embroiled in various territorial disputes.
“The United States joins virtually everyone else in the region, in being deeply concerned about the pace and scope of [China’s] land reclamation in the South China Sea, the prospect of further militarization, as well as the potential for these activities to increase the risk of miscalculation or conflict among claimant states,” Carter said.
The administration’s “rebalance” to Asia was not intended to “hold any nation back or push any country down,” he said. But China must honor President Xi Jinping’s pledge not to “pursue militarization” in the South China Sea.
Carter said he has accepted an invitation from Xi to visit China in the new year.
“There, we will surely discuss our differences, but we can also talk about the many opportunities we have to work together to address common challenges, such as piracy, humanitarian disasters, climate change, among many others.”
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