Free and open South China Sea may be lost

The US has looked on as the vision of a democratic-led Indo-Pacific could give way to an illiberal, repressive regional order, with China in full control, writes Brahma Chellaney.

US defence secretary Jim Mattis has spoken out against China’s strategy of “intimidation and coercion” in the South China Sea, including the deployment of anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missiles, and electronic jammers, and, more recently, the landing of nuclear-capable bomber aircraft at Woody Island.