For months, Beijing and Washington have been engaged in a mounting rhetorical war over Chinese territorial claims- and island building- in contested waters of the South China Sea. The Chinese Foreign Ministry has cautioned the US military not to exacerbate tension in the South China Sea by sailing naval vessels or flying aircraft near Chines-held islands, many of which are located in waters also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia. The Pentagon has countered that US ships and aircraft will travel along any routes allowed by international law at any time and has told regional allies that it will soon conduct patrols near Chinese positions.

US, China face off over the South China Sea. (2015, October 31). The Philippine Star, p. 11.