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| Image: Flickr User - Official U.S. Navy Page |
By Dingding Chen
And so U.S.-China tensions over the South China Sea enter a new era. What can be expected?
The showdown begins in the South China Sea. The U.S. Navy, after a long debate and several delays, finally entered the 12 nautical mile zone of China’s man-made islands in the South China Sea in the name of “Freedom of Navigation.”
This is not surprising at all, as many previous leaks have already suggested that this operation would happen this year. In that regard, both the US move and China’s reactions to the move were also predictable. China strongly protested the U.S. move, and the United States quickly ended the operation without further provocations. To better understand how this new move by the U.S. will shape the future of Sino-U.S. relations and the territorial disputes in the South China Sea, we need to look at how both the U.S. and China can benefit or suffer from this new situation. We can then predict with some confidence how the future strategies of both powers will be.
What are the benefits to the U.S. with this move?
Read the full story at The Diplomat