US military officials have watched what they see as increasingly aggressive Chinese actions with concern. They worry Beijing could use these tactics, which fall short of actual armed conflict, to advance its interests.
US military forces in the Pacific are alarmed by what they see as an increasingly capable China using military intimidation and economic coercion to bully its smaller neighbors.
So far, these tactics fall short of actual armed conflict. But US defense officials here and in Washington, most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive topic, say if the United States does not stay on alert in the region, Beijing could use force to advance its interests—and Taiwan in particular is a major potential flash point.
Among the signs of Beijing's increasing aggression, a Chinese warship came within 45 yards of the of a Navy destroyer in the South China Sea late last year, a close encounter the service characterized as "unsafe and unprofessional."
Meanwhile, the US Navy has increased the frequency of movement through the strategically important Taiwan Strait, including most recently on March 24, after China repeatedly sent military aircraft and ships to circle the island for drills.
And in January, China's President Xi Jinping warned that any efforts by the contested island democracy to assert its full independence could be met by armed force, and he implicitly threatened the United States if it tries to intervene.
In what appears to be a signal to China, the Trump administration has reportedly given tacit approval to Taiwan's request for 60 new F-16 fighter jets, prompting fresh protests from Beijing. Previous administrations, including former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama, rejected Taiwan's request to buy new F-16s, likely so as not to provoke China.
But this time, while the formal process has not yet been completed, officials and experts said it will likely go through given President Donald Trump's administration's more hawkish attitude toward China. John Bolton, Trump's national security advisor, is a proponent of the deal, said one former defense official.
"There is a consensus that's almost bipartisan in Washington that it's time to be a bit more assertive against China," said Richard Aboulafia, an analyst with the Teal Group. "This is the part where fighters are geopolitics with wings."
The US military's increasing concern over China's actions in the Pacific come amid tense negotiations between the Trump administration and Beijing to end a tariff and trade rules standoff that has roiled global markets. National and financial security are inexorably tangled in the region, as China uses not just military but also economic tactics to coerce its vulnerable neighbors.
"China represents our greatest long-term strategic threat to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and to the United States," Adm. Phil Davidson, the commander of US Indo-Pacific Command, recently warned the Senate.
Between the Spratly and Paracel islands in the South China Sea, China has built roughly eight islands, populated with advanced surface-to-air missiles and airfields that can support bombers and other aircraft, said one US Air Force official here. At the same time, Beijing has employed dubious maritime tactics in the South China Sea, such as using disguised military vessels, painted white to look like China Coast Guard ships, to intimidate Vietnamese fishing boats.
China also has between 100,000 and 150,000 fishing vessels that "at any point they could operationalize" and use "to blockade, intimidate, or coerce other nations," the official said.
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