The latest in tensions between the United States and China is the landing of a Chinese military aircraft on Fiery Cross Reef, one of several man-made islands built by China in the Spratly Island chain in the South China Sea. The Chinese claim the landing was for a humanitarian operation to evacuate three ill workers, but the Pentagon is troubled that China used a military plane instead of a civilian one and wants assurances from China that it has no plans to deploy or rotate military aircraft in the Spratlys, as previously promised.

The U.S. concern over Chinese actions revolve around the some $5 trillion in oceanic commerce that passes through the South China Sea and the need for unimpeded navigation that is crucial to the economies of Japan, South Korea, Australia and other countries in the region. If China does pose a threat to trade routes (itself a questionable proposition given China’s position as both a supplier and consumer in international trade), why should the United States—whose homeland is thousands of miles away—take the lead and risk military confrontation with China? As an option of last resort, the America can play a supporting role, but the primary responsibility should rest with those nations in East Asia who are more directly threatened and stand to lose the most.

http://www.nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/war-the-south-china-sea-not-worth-it-15875