Defense secretary to visit Hawaii after Asia talks

Defense Secretary Ash Carter will address 200 service members at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Friday as he wraps up his third visit to the Asia-Pacific region in eight months, officials said. 

Carter, who began the eight-day trip Oct. 30, is meeting with leaders from more than a dozen nations across East Asia and South Asia. 

Carter met with Gen. Chang Wanquan, the minister of national defense of the People’s Republic of China, and opened the meeting by reaffirming the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, which he said preserves the peace, stability and openness of the region. 

The Pentagon said Carter identified two security issues still affecting U.S.-China relations — tensions in the South China Sea and disagreements in cyberspace. 

He called on all countries to halt island-building in contested waters in the South China Sea, and noted President Xi Jingping’s previous statement that “China does not intend to pursue militatization” with its man-made islands. 

Carter also expressed concerns about cyber threats to U.S. companies and citizens, the Pentagon said.