A senior United States naval officer encouraged Southeast Asian nations to respond to China's military expansion in the South China Sea. US naval operations chief Admiral John Richardson on Thursday called on Australian and Indonesian maritime forces to step up presence in the contested waterway. The Philippines claimed the South China Sea and recently complained of Chinese incursions into its exclusive economic zone.

US urges response to China's fortification. (2019, May 18). Panay News, p. 8.