Mattis accuses China of acts of 'intimidation and coersion'

Defense News: United States Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said China’s deployment of military assets to the disputed islands and features in the South China is for “intimidation and coercion,” saying the decision to uninvite China’s navy from participation in a multinational naval exercise is a direct response to these actions.

Speaking at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, which brings together defense ministers, military personnel and security experts to discuss regional security, Mattis also said these deployments are in direct contradiction to president Xi Jinping’s 2015 reassurances that China will not to militarize the South China Sea.

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