President Barack Obama of the United States is at odds with several of his naval commanders because of his opposition to the deployment of warships to disputed waters in the South China Sea, reports the Christian Today.

It is traditional policy for the Pentagon to reserve the right to sail or fly by a series of artificial islands built by China to deter Beijing’s determination to demonstrably exercise control over the disputed Spratly island region, which it claims in its entirety. With China’s construction of a 3,000-meter runway on top of reclaimed land on Fiery Cross reef — an area large enough to deploy heavy-duty military equipment and deep enough to make submarine movements difficult to track — Pentagon officials and congressional hawks are demanding the US Navy deploy warships within 12 miles of the artificial islands to make it clear that the US does not support China’s territorial claims.

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