Vice Admiral Karl Thomas, the commander of the U.S. 7th Fleet, during a visit to Manila, declared yesterday that Chinese “aggression” in the South China Sea must be confronted. “You have to challenge people I would say who are operating in a gray zone. When they’re taking a little bit more and more and pushing you, you’ve got to push back, you have to sail and operate,” Thomas told Reuters. “There’s really no better example of aggressive behavior than the activity on 5 August on the shoal,” he added, referring to the incident that day between a Chinese coast guard ship and the Philippine military attempt to supply a grounded naval vessel in a disputed area.
Thomas was in Manila in the context of joint exercises in the South China Sea, running from Aug. 24 to Aug. 31, involving the U.S., Japan and Australia with the Philippines.
