Tipping point can be avoided
United States flag-bearing warships and military aircraft have repeatedly engaged in China reconnaissance in the guise of "freedom of navigation and overflight", fueling concerns that it may be the tipping point in China-US ties.
On Tuesday, a US EP-3 aircraft undertook close reconnaissance near Hainan Island forcing two Chinese fighter jets, which maintained a safe distance from the aircraft, to track and monitor its activities. Earlier, the guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence sailed within 12 nautical miles of Yongshu Reef in the Nansha Islands without Chinese permission: A clear violation of China's sovereignty according to international law.
What would be the consequences should Chinese and US aircraft collide over the South China Sea, or a collision occur between warships of the two countries?
