Growing Chinese Navy Adds to Risk of Clashes in Asia’s Major Maritime Dispute [VOA News article]

Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam contest all or some of China’s claims to about 90 percent of the fishery-rich, oil-laden South China Sea spanning 3.5 million square kilometers.

But they are all militarily weaker than China and might find it harder under a stronger Chinese navy to access small island outposts or prime fishing spots, maritime scholars say.

“There’s not much they can do about this in the surrounding countries,” said Dr Oh Ei Sun, senior fellow with the Singapore Institute of International Affairs. “We may just privately worry about it.”

Excerpted from the full article: Growing Chinese Navy Adds to Risk of Clashes in Asia’s Major Maritime Dispute [VOA News, 28 January 2019]