The administration of Barack Obama has significantly sharpened its rhetoric about China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea in the last week amid growing pressure from allies in the region for the US to take a firmer line.
In public statements in recent days, senior US officials placed the blame for tensions in the region solely on China and warned that the US could move more forces to the western Pacific if Beijing were to declare a new air defence zone in the South China Sea.
Although Mr Obama is due to visit the region in April, several Asia governments have complained privately that the administration has become distracted in the Middle East and has left the way open for China to pursue its claims with greater confidence.
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