China, US will not give way in South China Sea fight

Difference in opinion: The United States defied China by sending a warship close to artificial islands the republic is building in disputed waters, prompting Beijing to furiously denounce what it called a threat to its sovereignty. — AFP

THE challenge mounted last week by the US navy to China’s maritime expansion in the South China Sea highlights the confrontation in east Asia between the world’s two major powers in one of the more important, but least noticed, global flashpoints.

Neither side wants an outright conflict. But neither will give way.