By Hugh White

June 10, 2015

"What exactly is America's gripe with China in the South China Sea? The question becomes more and more important as the future of the world's most vital bilateral relationship becomes more and more dependent on what happens in this much-contested waterway. And the answer is not very clear.

The South China Sea has been a point of friction between Washington and Beijing for many years, but over the past few weeks it seems Washington has quite deliberately turned up the volume of its criticisms of Chinese actions there. We have seen an apparently well-orchestrated campaign of official U.S. statements and well-sourced media stories culminating in the much-publicized U.S. Navy P-8 surveillance mission close to China's construction work on Fiery Cross Reef, and Defense Secretary Ashton Carter's forthright speech in Singapore at the end of last month."

Read more:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hugh-white/china-us-spy-planes_b_7550002.html

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