China, it seems, is trying to make life difficult for the United States for sailing in the South China Sea.
US naval officials said that the USS Cowpers was "lawfully operating" in international waters near the South China Sea, when it had an encounter with a People's Liberation Army (PLA) vessel and they had to maneuver to avoid collision, the Christian Science Monitor reports.
The incident was followed by China's announcement that it will establish an air defense identification zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, which has been repeatedly criticized by the US as well as from other Southeast Asian neighbors.
A senior research fellow for Chinese political and security affairs at the Heritage Foundation, Dean Cheng, pointed out that the US might not be able to comfortably troll the waters of the western Pacific in coming future.
