On Tuesday, the United States House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and the House Foreign Affairs Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee held a hearing on China’s maritime disputes in the South and East China Sea. The hearing, according to a description posted on Rep. Randy Forbes’ website, was an “opportunity to assess how recent developments impact U.S. interests in the region.”

Rep. Steve Chabot (R-OK), Chairman of the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee, said in his opening statement that current tensions were a “result of unilateral actions taken by China to exert its control over disputed maritime territories.” Chabot said he was “disappointed” but “not terribly surprised” by China’s actions, which he believes are driven by a dangerous sort of nationalism. He argued that there is no greater threat to the region than “China’s efforts to coercively change and destabilize the regional status quo.” Chabot expressed his support for Japan’s decision to revamp its national security, and praised the efforts to rotate additional U.S. troops in the Philippines.

Read more: http://thediplomat.com/2014/01/us-congress-takes-hard-line-stance-on-chinas-maritime-disputes/