China's "aggressive behaviour" in the South China Sea, including the use of water canon by its coast guard against a Philippine vessel, must be challenged and checked, the commander of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet said on Sunday.

China’s “aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea, including the use of water canon by its coast guard against a Philippine vessel, must be challenged and checked, the commander of the U.S. Navy’s Seventh Fleet said on Sunday.

Vice Admiral Karl Thomas assured the Philippines of U.S. backing in the face of “shared challenges” in the region, saying: “My forces are out here for a reason.”

  • MicroWave@lemmy.worldOP
    16·
    10 months ago

    On Aug. 5, a Chinese coast guard ship used water cannon against a Philippine boat carrying supplies to troops aboard a warship Manila intentionally grounded on a shoal in the South China Sea, a fault line in the rivalry between the U.S. and Beijing in the region.

    Thomas said he had had discussions with Vice Admiral Alberto Carlos, the head of the Philippine Western Command overseeing the South China Sea, “to understand what his challenges are to find opportunities to be able to help him”.