US Slams China Over Confrontation With Ally: ‘Provocative Actions’

The United States condemned China’s aggression as it sought to prevent U.S. defense treaty partner the Philippines from resupplying an outlying military outpost in contested waters Tuesday. “The United States stands with our ally the Philippines following the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) provocative actions against lawful Philippine maritime operations in the South China Sea,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement. China claims most of the resource-rich waterway as its territory, including areas within the exclusive economic zones of nearby countries like the Philippines, citing unspecified historical rights. Over the past year, Chinese maritime forces have…