(Yong Teck Lim/Associated Press)SINGAPORE — U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on Saturday raised the prospect of additional American steps against China if its “militarization” of the South China Sea keeps apace. Mattis also touched on Taiwan, a longstanding dispute between the U.S. and China. “We do not see it as a militarization by going through what has traditionally been an international water space,” said Mattis of the U.S. ship movements through the South China Sea. China says it is within its rights to build up defenses on islands in the South China Sea that it believes are its sovereign territory. Many nations fear that Beijing will use the construction on the islands to extend its military reach and potentially try to restrict navigation in the South China Sea.

Source: Washington Post June 02, 2018 00:53 UTC