STATE DEPARTMENT—
The U.S. is ratcheting up cooperation with Asian allies to counter China’s “assertive and provocative behavior in the South China Sea” that is challenging the freedom of navigation in the crucial waterway, Deputy Secretary of State Antony Blinken told lawmakers Thursday during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing.

Blinken’s remarks came after a bipartisan group of U.S. senators introduced the Asia-Pacific Maritime Security Initiative Act — legislation they say will strengthen security assistance to partners in Southeast Asia and increase U.S. naval patrols near the contested islands in the South China Sea.

Defense officials have yet to publicly confirm the frequency of U.S. Navy patrols in the disputed waters, though some U.S. lawmakers asked the administration to expand the pace of freedom-of-navigation operations in that area to a weekly or monthly basis.

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