China is increasingly resorting to ‘coercive, assertive practices’ to achieve its goals in the Asia-Pacific region, as seen in the disputed South China Sea, a senior official of the US foreign intelligence service said. China and Japan, a longtime US ally, have rival claims over a chain of islands in the East China Sea. China has also been locked in territorial disputes with several of its other neighbours in the South China Sea, parts of which is claimed by Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam and the Philippines. At the Aspen Institutes’ 2017 Security Forum, Collins said: “They (Chinese) are increasingly resorting to coercive, assertive practices to achieve their ends, things that we don’t subscribe to and others in the region does subscribe to. To that end, they need stability and close relations and stay in relations with United States,” the CIA official said.

Source: Hindustan Times July 25, 2017 04:07 UTC