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South China Sea: Japan-based US forces aim to check Beijing’s ‘aggressive behaviour’, fleet commander says
- Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas, commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet, said China must be challenged and checked in the South China Sea
- He has assured the Philippines of US backing in the face of ‘shared challenges’ in the region, saying: ‘my forces are out here for a reason’
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China’s “aggressive behaviour” in the South China Sea, including the use of water cannon by its coastguard against a Philippine vessel, must be challenged and checked, the commander of the US Navy’s Seventh Fleet said.
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Vice-Admiral Karl Thomas assured the Philippines of the United States’ backing in the face of “shared challenges” in the region, saying: “my forces are out here for a reason”.
The largest of the US Navy’s forward-deployed fleets, the Seventh Fleet, headquartered in Japan, operates as many as 70 ships, has around 150 aircraft and more than 27,000 sailors.
It operates over an area of 124 million square km (48 million square miles) from bases in Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
02:13
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters
Philippines accuses Chinese coastguard of firing water cannons at its vessels in disputed waters
“You have to challenge people I would say operating in a grey zone. When they’re taking a little bit more and more and pushing you, you’ve got to push back, you have to sail and operate,” Thomas said in an interview on Sunday.
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“There’s really no better example of aggressive behaviour than the activity on August 5 on the shoal,” he added.
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