Planned U.S. Patrols In South China Sea Escalate Tensions

06:55

October 16, 2015

A Filipino fisherman is seen past the U.S. Navy amphibious transport dock ship USS Green Bay (LPD-20) during an amphibious landing exercise on a beach at San Antonio in Zambales province on April 21, 2015, as part of annual Philippine-US joint maneuvers some 220 kilometres (137 miles) east of the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea. The Philippines voiced alarm April 20 about Chinese 'aggressiveness' in disputed regional waters as it launched giant war games with the United States that were partly aimed as a warning shot to Beijing. AFP PHOTO/TED ALJIBE (Ted Alijbe/AFP/Getty Images)

China has been dredging sand and piling it on reefs to create artificial islands in the South China Sea, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

The United States is considering sending warships within 12 nautical miles of at least one of these islands, which would challenge China's sovereign claim to the waters and could escalate tensions between the two countries.

Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center, talks with Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson about what this means for U.S.-China relations.

Guest

Robert Daly, director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States at the Wilson Center.

This segment aired on October 16, 2015.

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