The United States on Tuesday accused China of increased “provocations” against rival claimants in the South China Sea and said its “aggressive and irresponsible behavior’ meant it was only a matter of time before a major incident or accident. Jung Pak, deputy assistant secretary for East Asia at the State Department, told a US think tank there was “a clear and upward trend of PRC provocations against South China Sea claimants and other states lawfully operating in the region,” referring to the People’s Republic of China. She told the Center for Strategic and International Studies Chinese aircraft had increasingly engaged in unsafe intercepts of Australian aircraft in international airspace above the South China Sea and in three separate incidents in the last few months had challenged marine research and energy exploration activities within the exclusive economic zone of the Philippines.

US says Beijing's South China Sea 'provocations' risk major incident. (2022, July 28). Business World, p. S1/9.