US actions danger to itself

Admiral Scott Swift, Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, told a conference on Indo-Pacific maritime security in Australia on Wednesday that an attitude of "might makes right" was returning to the South China Sea and sailing US warships through contested areas in the region was "not a naval issue" but a move aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation.

Although he did not mention China by name, Swift denounced "land reclamation and deployment of land-to-air missiles" as moves designed to change the established order.

If the US military presence in South China Sea is only aimed at ensuring freedom of navigation as Swift claimed, then it has a shared interest with China, given that it is China's consistent stance that it supports freedom of navigation in the waters.