US Seeks Renewed 'Shared Regional Architecture' With Asia-Pacific - Carter

The US Department of Defense needs to renew and strengthen its ties with major Asian nations in order to face a new era of growing threats, US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said in a message from Malaysia to the Defense One summit on Washington, DC.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The Defense Department, Carter noted, was deploying a new generation of advanced weapons systems to the Asia-Pacific region.

“I am in Malaysia, working with our partners throughout the Asia-Pacific region to build a shared regional architecture,” Carter stated on Monday.

He explained that he was “meeting with our Asia-Pacific partners in Malaysia to strengthen the bonds between our nations.”

“[T]he technology we are bringing forward to the Asia-Pacific [includes] the latest Virginia-class submarines, the Navy’s P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, the newest stealth destroyer, the Zumwalt, and brand-new carrier-based E-2D Hawkeye early-warning-and-control aircraft,” Carter specified.

The Defense Department was also investing in technologies such as new unmanned systems for the air and sea, a new long-range bomber and technologies like the electromagnetic railgun, Carter continued.

“When I began my career, most technology of consequence originated in the United States and much of it was sponsored by the government, especially in the Department of Defense. Today, much more of our technology is commercial and the technology base is global,” he explained.

During his trip to Asia, Carter also visited South Korea for high-level security talks.