Page 2 - ARUBA TODAY

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 6 March 2017

In disputed South China Sea: Trump now wary of Russian deal;

Top Philippine officials fly to US carrier for visit new advisers urge tougher stand

JULIE PACE
JIM GOMEZ fighter jets land and take by about 5,500 military per- AP White House Correspondent
Associated Press off on catapult on the flight sonnel, has sailed through WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is telling
MANILA, Philippines (AP) deck and met U.S. navy the contested region sev- advisers and allies that he may shelve, at least tem-
— The Philippine defense commanders in charge of eral times and other U.S. porarily, his plan to pursue a deal with Moscow on the
chief and two other Cabi- the 95,000-ton carrier as it warships have routinely Islamic State group and other national security mat-
net members on Saturday sailed in the disputed wa- patrolled the waters for ters, according to administration officials and Western
toured a U.S. aircraft car- ters, Koscina said. decades, Kilby said. Sailors diplomats.
rier patrolling the disputed U.S. Navy officials told a expressed confidence and In conversations with diplomats and other officials,
South China Sea on the small group of journalists pride in what they do, step- Trump and his aides have ascribed the new thinking
invitation of the Navy, U.S. who were flown to the Carl ping aside to give way to to Moscow’s recent provocations. But the reconsid-
Embassy officials said. Vinson on Friday that the visitors in narrow corridors. eration of a central tenet of his foreign policy under-
Defense Secretary Delfin U.S. warship deployment “Are you enjoying your time scores the growing political risks in forging closer re-
Lorenzana, Finance Secre- was aimed at ensuring on board?” Navy Lt. Char- lations with Russia, as long as the FBI investigates his
tary Carlos Dominguez and freedom of navigation and lotte Benbow, who was in campaign associates’ connections to Moscow and
Justice Secretary Vitaliano overflight in the South Chi- charge of the navigation congressional committees step up their inquiries into
Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election.
The controversy has already led to the firing of Trump’s
national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who misled
officials about his contacts with the Russian ambas-
sador, and to calls by Democrats for Attorney Gen-
eral Jeff Sessions to resign after he failed to disclose his
own meetings with the envoy.
Trump’s new skepticism about brokering a deal with
Moscow also suggests the rising influence of a new set
of advisers who have taken a tougher stance on Rus-
sia, including Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and new
national security adviser H.R. McMaster. During his
first meeting with National Security Council staff, Mc-
Master described Russia — as well as China — as a
country that wants to upend the current world order,
according to an administration official who attended
the meeting.
Michael McFaul, who served as President Barack
Obama’s ambassador to Russia, said that while Trump
has been open about wanting warmer relations with
Russia, “he hasn’t picked people to the best of my
knowledge at senior levels that share that view.”
European allies also have been pushing the Trump
administration not to make any early concessions to
A U.S. Navy F18 fighter jet from the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) for a patrol Russia. To bolster their case, European officials have
off the disputed South China Sea Friday, March 3, 2017. The Philippine defense chief and two other tailored their rhetoric to appeal to Trump’s business
Cabinet members on Saturday toured the U.S. aircraft carrier on the invitation of the Navy, U.S. background, including emphasizing the risks of nego-
Embassy officials said.
(AP Photo/Bullit Marquez) tiating a bad deal, rather than more nuanced argu-
ments, according to one Western diplomat. Given
Trump’s “America First” mantra, foreign officials em-
Aguirre II visited the USS Carl na Sea, a key waterway bridge, asked journalists phasize how U.S. standing in the world could be di-
Vinson along with three for global commerce and touring the mammoth ship. minished by making concessions to Russia instead of
Philippine security officials, security. “Flight ops is pretty cool.” focusing on the importance of the U.S. and Europe
said U.S. Embassy spokes- “We will be here,” Rear In recent years, China has sticking together to counter Moscow.
woman Molly Koscina. Adm. James Kilby told the turned seven mostly sub- Trump, who spoke favorably about Russian President
The visit shows continuing journalists, including those merged disputed reefs into Vladimir Putin throughout the campaign, is said to
top-level engagements from The Associated Press. islands where Beijing is now have shown interest in a broad deal with Russia that
between Philippine offi- “We’re going to continue reportedly installing a mis- could address cooperation in fighting the Islamic
cials and the U.S. military to demonstrate that inter- sile defense system. Chi- State, nuclear arms control agreements and Russia’s
despite Philippine President national waters are waters nese officials have stressed provocations in Ukraine. But in recent days, the ad-
Rodrigo Duterte’s threat to where everyone can sail, that they have a right to ministration has signaled that the moment for such a
scale back engagements where everyone can con- carry out those construc- deal may not be right.
with American forces while duct commerce and mer- tions in what they say are In an Oval Office meeting last week, Trump told ad-
reaching out to China and chant traffic.” their territories and add visers that Russia’s recent violation of a Cold War-era
Russia. There was no im- Kilby’s comments and the they have no hostile inten- arms control treaty was among the complicating fac-
mediate reaction from Chi- presence of the carrier in tions in the region. tors. In February, the Trump administration accused
na, which had opposed the South China Sea are But worries over China’s ac- Russia of violating the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nu-
U.S. patrols in waters it has aimed at reassuring Ameri- tions have grown. Govern- clear Forces Treaty by deploying a cruise missile.
claimed virtually in its en- can allies, who have ex- ments fear its actions could A White House official confirmed the discussion, say-
tirety. pressed concerns over Chi- later restrict movement in ing that Trump believes the treaty violation is mak-
The U.S. ambassador to na’s aggressive actions to a key waterway for world ing a diplomatic and security agreement with Russia
Manila, Sung Kim, accom- assert its claims to virtually commerce with rich fishing “tougher and tougher to achieve.” Top administration
panied the Philippine of- all of the South China Sea. grounds and potential un- officials have also echoed that message in conversa-
ficials to the Carl Vinson, The nuclear-powered Carl dersea deposits of oil and tions with some allies, according to diplomats.q
where they watched F18 Vinson, which is manned gas. q