U.S. Air Force and Navy May Challenge China in the South China Sea | The National Interest Blog: Following a two-week trip through Asia involving numerous meetings with Asian allies, James was unambiguous in her statement that China does not appear to be stopping its effort to expand its territorial dominion through the construction of man-made “island-like” structures in contested areas of the South China Sea.
“Everywhere we went we did talk about the situation in the South China Sea. China still appears to be building and has not appeared to stop or abate. This continues to be worrisome,” James said.
Of course James did not wish to formally specify where, when or how the US might conduct these operations, for security reasons – but she was clear that they were quite possible in light of China’s continued provocations.
As evidence of the US posture, James cited a circumstance several years ago when China declared an “Air Exclusion Zone” in portions of the skies in the area. In response, the US flew B-52s through the claimed area to demonstrate freedom of navigation of the skies.
“We want a good and balanced relationship with China but we do want China to respect the rule of law. More operations are certainly a possibility,” James added.
