TRUMP DAY ONE | Trump to visit Pentagon to discuss IS effort

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will visit the Department of Defense Friday to review the anti-Islamic State policy.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Monday that the president will visit the Pentagon to attend a ceremony for his newly confirmed defense secretary, retired Gen. James Mattis.

He says that Trump will also hold discussions with Mattis and the Joint Chiefs of Staff to review the fight against the Islamic State group.

The U.S. has nearly 5,000 soldiers taking part in the anti-IS coalition in Iraq, as well as special forces in both Iraq and Syria.

The Trump administration also vowed to defend territories that are in international waters, including those in the South China Sea.

Responding to a question about China’s claims over islands in the disputed area, Spicer says that “we are going to make sure we defend international territories.”

China is pitted against smaller neighbors in multiple disputes over islands, coral reefs and lagoons in waters crucial for global commerce and rich in fish and potential oil and gas reserves.

Trump ruffled feathers with China early after his Election Day victory, calling the leader of Taiwan and breaking the longstanding tradition of maintaining unofficial ties with the self-governing island.