Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at Defense Priorities and the director of the China Initiative at Brown University’s Watson Institute, told Business Insider that these risky activities have seemed to increase in the last decade, which “partly reflects the fact that China has more and more maritime and aerial might to flaunt in these situations.”
Had the Chinese destroyer smashed into the Philippine vessel instead of the Chinese coast guard cutter, this incident could have kicked off a major conflict, Goldstein said. The Philippines is an important US ally and defense partner.
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Events on China
