US Joint Chiefs of Staff Head Claims China is 'Significantly More Aggressive' in South Pacific

Washington's tension with Beijing has been escalating in recent years as the US increases its so-called "freedom of navigation" missions in the South China Sea, which Beijing considers a part of its territorial waters.

Chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, has claimed that China has begun acting increasingly aggressively in the South Pacific.

"Chinese military, in the air and at sea, have become significantly more and noticeably more aggressive in this particular region," Milley stated during a speech on his visit to Indonesia.

The general noted that the number of "unsafe interactions" between the Chinese military guarding the waters, which they consider a part of their country's territory, and US Navy ships, which sail into these waters, has increased significantly over time. Milley did not elaborate on whether the US plans to alter its conduct in the region as a result.

Beijing has repeatedly demanded that the US stop sending its warships to the South China Sea under the guise of the "freedom of navigation" missions, warning that an incident at sea might prompt an armed confrontation between the two countries one day. These calls, however, have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

Milley's trip comes as the US looks to boost cooperation with regional allies, namely Australia, which recently signed a security pact with the UK and the US amid Beijing's protests. The pact will enable the US and UK to equip non-nuclear Australia with nuclear submarines, which China considers a violation of non-proliferation principles and international law.

The US' most recent concern over China is related to the signing of a security pact between Beijing and the Solomon Islands, which Washington believes might provide the Asian giant with a new military foothold in the Pacific. However, the exact parameters of the deal remain unknown at the moment.