The US should stop testing China in the South China Sea.

The new missiles China has reportedly deployed to three islands in the Spratly chain could target nearly any ship and most aircraft in the southern half of the South China Sea. This radically changes the strategic environment. These missiles mean that China’s bases in the Spratlys are no longer theoretical military threats but real ones.

China and the US are not bound for conflict on the South China Sea, but some important questions need to be confronted first.

The US has a new commander in the Pacific. Here’s what to expect from him.

China’s activities in its surrounding seas may be as much a recognition of its weaknesses as an assertion of strengths. What is certain is that the East and South China Seas will continue to be sources of contention in the immediate future.

U.S. Air Force B-52 bombers have carried out training in the vicinity of the South China Sea and the southern Japanese island of Okinawa, the Air Force said on Friday, in what a Chinese newspaper linked to China’s drills near Taiwan.

The problem with the Freedom of Navigation operations by the U.S., China-US Focus contributor Richard Javad Heydarian says, is that it’s provocative enough to give China pretext to further militarize the dispute, but not robust enough to deter China from dominating the area.

China-US Contributor Richard Javad Heydarian speaks on why the mid-level powers in the South China Sea need to "step up to the plate."

China, the United States, and Japan are putting new emphasis on expanding their amphibious military capabilities, to both seize and defend strategic islands if needed. We may be heading towards an amphibious arms race in the Western Pacific.

The developments in the South China Sea carry far-reaching strategic implications for the Indo-Pacific and for the international maritime order. They also highlight that the biggest threat to maritime peace and security comes from unilateralism.