Pacific Power Play: US-Led Alliances, India, and China's Strategic Moves

China continues to flex its muscles in the South China Sea, raising tensions with the Philippines by aggressively pursuing its illegal claims in these waters. The Permanent Arbitration Tribunal under UNCLOS has already declared China's 9 Dash line as having no basis in international law, but China is undeterred and continues to assert its "historical" claims much beyond its EEZ. It is accusing the Philippines of violating Chinese sovereignty, threatening it with consequences, and blaming the US for promoting tensions. China is following its usual tactics of creating a problem and then claiming that it is the wronged party. After…