US-China Tensions Intensify in The Pacific

Video Above: China’s Growing Nuclear Arsenal

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

Chinese provocative and aggressive behavior in the Pacific is placing the US and its allies at great risk of war, given the possibility of a misunderstanding, miscalculation or unintended escalation.

While US-Chinese tensions in the Pacific are by no means new in any sense, they do continue to intensify, and several recent events have led Pentagon leaders to express an unmistakable sense of danger.

US-Chinese Tensions

Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defenses for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, cited a series of what he said were extremely concerning recent events. In one instance, Ratner explained, a Chinese fighter aircraft released defensive “chaff” or countermeasures in the air in close proximity to an Australian aircraft. The fragments of aluminum and other debris from the Chaff were “sucked” into the engine of the Australian aircraft, a Pentagon report explained.

This incident was followed by another unsafe instance wherein Chinese aircraft intercepted a Canadian aircraft over the East China Sea. In yet another occurrence, a Chinese Naval vessel aimed a laser at an Australian aircraft, indicating a clear and potentially imminent threat.

Many at the Pentagon might still be a bit unclear as to how the US and its allies should interpret China’s recent behavior, raising natural questions regarding Chinese intent. Is this merely intimidation tactics and “saber-rattling,” or could the successive serious incidents and provocation indicate a growing seriousness in Chinese willingness to use force in the Pacific. Perhaps Chinese military leaders think this kind of aggression might function as what they might consider a “deterrent” to be, meaning US and allied presence in the Pacific is itself something which could inspire a Chinese military response.