MANILA, Philippines — China has prevented the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from acting as a bloc in countering its dominance in the disputed South China Sea, according to a report from a Washington-based think tank. In the report, Greenert listed the South China Sea as the third US security concern, next to North Korea and the East China Sea. Overlapping claims of Southeast Asian nations in the South China Sea make it hard to anticipate how a conflict would play out in the region, the report read. Beijing might have recalibrated its activities as a consequence but regional countries see Washington's response to Chinese activities as insufficient, according to the report. The US Pacific Fleet described the encounter as "an unsafe and unprofessional maneuver in the vicinity of Gaven Reef in the South China Sea."

Source: Philippine Star October 03, 2018 07:18 UTC