U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Eli Ratner said “China’s actions in the South China Sea threaten a ‘major emergency’ in the Asia-Pacific region.”
“Over the past five years, there has been an increase in unsafe Chinese military intercepts (aircraft and warships) by the US and its allies and partners legitimately operating in international airspace over the China Sea,” Ratner said in a speech at a symposium at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
“If the Chinese military continues to use this pattern of behavior, it will only be a matter of time before a major event or accident occurs in the region,” he added.
“Over the past few years, China has intensified its efforts, primarily to establish control over the ocean, as well as to remove the central elements of the rules-based order,” he said.
He believed that Beijing was now demonstrating “growing military power with a greater willingness to take risks.”
At the same time, he stressed that the United States does not seek “confrontation or conflict” with China.
He added that Washington “actively seeks to maintain open lines of communication with Beijing,” including with the Chinese military leadership, in order to be able to “do not miscalculate.”
Source: “TASS”