US To Relocate Stealth Destroyer To Asia-Pacific

The US has decided to deploy advanced military hardware, including its newest stealth missile destroyer, to the Asia-Pacific region to counter China's rise, Sputnik website reported Wednesday.

The website quoted US Defense Secretary Ash Carter as saying "we plan to bring the best platforms and people forward to the Asia-Pacific" as part of America's rebalancing strategy.

The military hardware that Carter promised to deliver includes the latest Virginia-class submarines, P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft, the newest stealth destroyer, the Zumwalt, and a brand-new carrier-based E-2D Hawkeye early-warning-and-control aircraft.

The US is concerned over China's growing assertiveness in the region, specifically the reclamation of the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, an area subject to overlapping territorial claims from Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan, the Philippines and Vietnam.

The Virginia Class new attack submarine is an advanced stealth multimission nuclear-powered submarine for deep ocean anti-submarine warfare and littoral (shallow water) operations.

The P-8 Poseidon is an aircraft designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare; anti-surface warfare; and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It is capable of broad-area maritime and littoral operations.

The Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is an American all-weather, carrier-capable tactical airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft. The E-2D gives the warfighter expanded battlespace awareness, especially in the area of information operations delivering battle management, theater air and missile defense, and multiple sensor fusion capabilities in an airborne system.