This week the Pentagon ordered the USS William P. Lawrence, a guided-missile destroyer, to sail within 12 nautical miles of the land feature China has constructed on Fiery Cross Reef in the South China Sea. It’s the third time since October the US Navy has penetrated the zone, and it reaffirms Washington’s insistence that Beijing has no territorial claims to the artificial islands there.

It’s one thing for a global hegemon to keep in check a rising China. But should Australia accede to US requests to participate in freedom of navigation patrols? After all, we’re a middle power with a rapidly developing trade and commercial relationship with China and no territorial claims in the region.

http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/critical-american-ally-struggling-chinas-south-china-sea-16165