Fun in the SCS

Freedom of navigation under fire.

Southeast Asia Seeks Solution with Beijing After Near Sino-US Ship Collision

Ralph Jennings

TAIPEI — A near collision between Chinese and U.S. ships in the contested South China Sea has shaken Asian countries whose economies and military security depend on a tense yet nonviolent Sino-U.S. relationship, and has raised the stakes for a deal with Beijing.

The USS Decatur came within 40 meters of a Chinese ship in the South China Sea’s Spratly Islands on Sept. 30, causing the American vessel to change course, according to the Pentagon. China claims 90 percent of the sea that’s off its south coast, but the United States says other countries have legal rights to use it.

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Source: voanews.com