‘We will not stand down’: US warns China after latest clash with US Navy

Ryan Pickrell

• Vice President Mike Pence delivered a hard-hitting speech Thursday criticizing China for a host of aggressive actions from economics to geopolitics.
• Speaking on behalf of the White House, he held up the recent clash between US and Chinese warships in the South China Sea as an example of Chinese “aggression.”
• He warned Beijing that the US “will not be intimidated” and “will not stand down.”

The White House responded publicly Thursday to a heated confrontation between the Chinese navy and a US destroyer in the South China Sea this past weekend.

“China wants nothing less than to push the United States of America from the Western Pacific and attempt to prevent us from coming to the aid of our allies,” Vice President Mike Pence said at the Hudson Institute. “They will fail.”

He explained that China prioritizes the erosion of American military power.

> Vice President Mike Pence✔@VPA Chinese naval vessel came within 45 yards of the USS Decatur as it conducted freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea. The @USNavy will continue to fly, sail & operate wherever international law allows & our national interests demand. We will not be intimidated.

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