freedom of navigation operations

'We will not flinch when our interests are threatened yet we do not seek confrontation.'

Heated rhetoric has been on the rise in the region, where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam challenge China's claim to about 90% of the sea.

After the Department of State declared Beijing's maritime claims in the South China Sea and efforts to assert dominance to be unlawful, the U.S. Navy destroyer USS Ralph Johnson further challenged China with a sail-by operation.

The U.S. Navy warned China to stop "bullying" other countries in the South China Sea as two Navy ships sailed into the middle of a dispute in the contested waterway

The U.S. military said it sent two Navy warships through the Taiwan Strait on Sunday as the Pentagon increases the frequency of movement through the strategic waterway despite opposition from China

The South China Sea is a powder keg, and one senior Chinese military officer seems interested in lighting the fuse...

Your humble Pentagon correspondent does not normally delve into geo-political affairs, but it seems fairly clear the United States’ relationship...