Hagel fires warning shot at China
US defence secretary Chuck Hagel used the opportunity of the Shangri-La Dialogue to give China a clear message that the US would not tolerate the country’s recent aggressive actions in the South China Sea.
‘One of the most critical tests facing the region is whether nations will choose to resolve disputes through diplomacy and well-established international rules and norms… or through intimidation and coercion. Nowhere is this more evident than in the South China Sea, the beating heart of the Asia-Pacific and a crossroads for the global economy,’ Hagel said on 31 May.
‘China has called the South China Sea
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