Only a ‘matter of time’ before China’s ‘aggressive and irresponsible behavior will trigger a ‘major incident,’ US officials say
FEATUREDWIB POLITICSWIB SEA July 29, 2022 Staff Writer 0
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila / Asia News Network
Jul. 28—MANILA( Philippine Daily Inquirer/ANN) — China is showing increasingly “aggressive and irresponsible behavior” in the South China Sea which it claims almost in its entirety and it will only be “a matter of time” before its actions trigger a “major incident” in the disputed waters, American officials warned on Tuesday. There is a “clear and upward trend” of Chinese “provocations” against other countries that are lawfully operating in the region, said Jung Pak, deputy assistant secretary for East Asia at the US Department of State, during a forum hosted and livestreamed by US think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC.
Chinese vessels recently challenged marine research and energy exploration activities within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone and harassed Philippine boats bringing supplies to BRP Sierra Madre at Ayungin (Second Thomas) Shoal last month. Chinese aircraft also carried out “unsafe intercepts” of Australian planes flying above the South China Sea’s international airspace, she said. China has overlapping claims over parts of the South China Sea with the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan. An arbitration tribunal ruled in 2016 to reject its sweeping claims to the waters but Beijing refuses to recognize the ruling. ‘Testing the limits’ Speaking in the same forum, Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, said Chinese provocative actions in the South China Sea are not isolated incidents and they had “increased dramatically” in the last five years, “with dozens of dangerous events in the first half of this year alone.” ” Beijing is systematically testing the limits of our collective resolve and advancing a new status quo in the South China Sea that flies in the face of our shared commitment to the respect for sovereignty, peaceful resolution of disputes and adherence to international law,” he said
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