Surge in South China Sea Naval Exercises in 2018 Vexes Beijing

A surge in naval maneuvers in the South China Sea by Western allies this year is keeping China from any further expansion into the contested waters, analysts say. Vessels from Australia, France, Japan and the United States have sent ships to the 3.5 million-square-kilometer sea in 2018. They believe the sea rich in fisheries and fossil fuel reserves to be an international waterway, but China claims about 90 percent of it and has militarized several key islets. The foreign military...

© La Voix de l'Amérique - lundi 16 juillet 2018