US Navy collisions pose growing threat to Chinese maritime activities, experts warn
Concerns grow after the second deadly incident involving a US warship in three months
After the Pentagon ordered a full-scale investigation into the latest in a string of accidents involving US warships, Chinese analysts have warned that China should be alert to the potential risk to its own naval and commercial fleets.
“The US Navy has been flexing its muscles all around the world, and has even intruded into our waters in the South China Sea,” Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said.
“This could pose a danger to maritime encounters between our two countries’ navies that not even the existing code on encounters at sea could resolve.”
He was referring to the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea, an agreement signed in 2014 that seeks to reduce the chances of its signatories becoming involved in incidents at sea.