The U.S. will no longer remain on the sidelines when China uses “gangster tactics” to get its way in territorial disputes in the South China Sea, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday. Speaking at an online forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, David Stilwell, assistant secretary of state for East Asia and the Pacific, said if Beijing continues to block Philippine access to fishing waters in Scarborough Shoal or militarize outcroppings there, the United States would regard those as “a dangerous move.” Four years ago, an international arbitration panel ruled against China and said Scarborough … Continue reading State Dept. Official: U.S. Will Oppose Chinese ‘Gangster Tactics’ in South China Sea; U.S. Warship Conducts Freedom of Navigation Operation