South China Sea: ‘alliance of democracies’ ready to counter Beijing aggression

In July 2016, an international tribunal rejected China’s claims of sovereignty over the territory within a vaguely-defined nine-dash line in theSouth China Sea
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”.While the United States takes no position on the competing claims in the South China Sea, Washington does reject Beijing’s claim and has deployed two carrier strike groups in dual-carrier operations through the contested waters. Punctuating this position is US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent announcement that China’s claims are“ completely unlawful.
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https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3096328/south-china-sea-alliance-democracies-ready-counter-beijing