Sourced: Asia Times
In recent months it has become clear that the lull in Washington’s confrontation with China in the South China Sea is over.
After the election of President Donald Trump, concern over Beijing’s expanding naval presence took a back seat to preoccupation with cooperation on North Korea. But the current US administration has once again stepped up rhetoric and naval operations, sending a message to China: Your neighbors in the region are smaller than you, but they are not alone.
America’s continued presence in the waters off Southeast Asia is predicated, in part, on Washington’s insistence that it is needed, and wanted, to help ensure stability. But the question of whether member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) support US presence in the South China Sea may not have a black-and-white answer.
Read more at : http://www.atimes.com/article/asean-want-us-navy-south-china-sea/