Mark J. Valencia, SCMP: South China Sea: how well do China and the US really know each other’s intentions?
Mark J. Valencia says Washington and Beijing both act as though they know what the other wants in the South China Sea, but may be falling victim to worst-case thinking that risks further conflict
The visit by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo last month to Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia signals a new era of competition between the United States and China in Southeast Asia and the South China Sea.
China critics in the US frequently warn of what they assume are China’s dangerous intentions regarding the South China Sea – and what it may do to achieve its goals. They say it wants to dominate the sea militarily as part of its ambitious and aggressive expansionism and that, therefore, it will continue to militarise the features it occupies and undertake major naval exercises there.
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WNU Editor: I am not worried about U.S. - China miscalculations. I am more concerned about miscalculations between China and its neighbors. These are the countries that are on the front line, and there is a lomg history of confrontation and conflict.
