"Two developments in the past few weeks suggest that
America’s China policy is on a cusp.
The more publicly discussed event involves the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Dewey, which
conducted a freedom of navigation operation near Mischief Reef in the Spratlys island group.
This is the first freedom of navigation action conducted by the Trump administration. It is the first true freedom of navigation conducted since at least 2012.
The Obama administration further muddied the waters by choosing features whose sovereignty was in dispute—and therefore could claim that it was not singling out Chinese-claimed features.
Even after the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled that the various features in the South China Sea were not, in fact, islands and therefore could not lay claim to a 12-nautical mile territorial sea, the Obama administration nonetheless refused to reinforce the point by conducting a genuine freedom of navigation operation."
Trump Signals New US Approach to China With Tough Actions
"For the first time since at least 2012, the United States is signaling Beijing that its efforts to dominate the South China Sea will not be meekly accepted, but will be challenged."
Ibid.