US forces ready with a 'range of options' to deal with South China Sea aggression, US admiral says
A U.S. admiral says American forces are ready with a “range of options” to deal with increasing acts of aggression in the disputed South China Sea after consultations with treaty ally the Philippines
BAGUIO, Philippines (AP) — American forces are ready with a “range of options” to deal with increasing acts of aggression in the disputed South China Sea if ordered to carry them out jointly and after consultations with treaty ally the Philippines, a U.S. admiral said Thursday.
U.S. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo, who heads the biggest number of combat forces outside the U.S. mainland, refused to provide details of the contingency options.
Paparo's comments came when asked at a news conference what the longtime treaty allies could do to deal with China’s so-called gray-zone tactics in the disputed waters.
The “gray-zone tactics” refer to types of assault, like water cannon fire and the blocking and ramming of rival ships in the disputed waters, that are under the threshold of an actual armed attack and wouldn't allow the Philippines to invoke its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S. The treaty obligates either country to help the other in case of an armed external attack.
