China has been steadily laying its so-called sovereign claims on what it considers as its rightful territorial waters that span the East and South China seas. But one nation stands in the way of Beijing – America.
On the account of its military might, the United States is essentially tempering the aggressiveness that China has been displaying lately. The two superpowers are not exactly quarreling but Washington is challenging the perceived advances being made by the Chinese Navy over at the South China Sea.
The situation on the region is characterized at the moment as tense that Michael Austin, a history professor at Yale University, has expressed fears that two countries could get locked in a conflict soon. “The U.S. and China are now potentially closer to an armed encounter than at any time in the past 20 years,” Austin wrote for The Commentator.
China and the U.S. slugging it out on the region is not a remote possibility considering the prevailing environment, Austin said, adding that three scenarios could play out into a full-scale confrontation between the two countries.