If it were up to Admiral Harry Harris, U.S. response to China’s aggressive island building just 140 miles from Manila, Philippines will be as equally aggressive. However, he is encountering the biggest obstacle in the form of the White House.

Recent evidence has shown that China is now building another island on top of Scarborough Shoal, which is just 140 miles off the coast of Manila and within the Philippines’ 200-mile economic exclusion zone. In the light of this developing situation, U.S. allies such as the Philippines and Japan may already be feeling abandoned.

“The status quo is clearly being changed. Militarization at Scarborough Shoal would give [China’s People’s Liberation Army-Navy] the ability to hold Subic Bay, Manila Bay, and the Luzon Strait at risk with coastal defense cruise missiles or track aviation assets moving in or out of the northern Philippines,” a source who has spoken with the Navy Times revealed.

South China Sea War: China In 140 Miles Off Manila, US Admiral Wants Aggressive Confrontation