US should be willing to help Philippines defend disputed reef in South China Sea, says former US commander
Aim was not picking a fight with China, but reining in its threats, says retired admiral Dennis Blair
The United States should be willing to use military force to oppose Chinese aggression at a disputed reef off the coast of the Philippines, a former commander of US forces in the Pacific told a congressional hearing on Wednesday.
Dennis Blair made the recommendation to a Senate panel, a day after an international tribunal invalidated Beijing’s expansive claims in the South China Sea.
The objective was not to pick a fight with China at the disputed Scarborough Shoal, but to set a limit on its military coercion, Blair said.
“I think we need to have some specific lines and then encourage China to compromise on some of its objectives,” he told the hearing.
The Philippines is a US ally, but their treaty is ambiguous about whether the US would come to its defence in disputed territory.