U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry has told Chinese officials that Washington will launch countermeasures if Beijing takes further provocative acts in the South China Sea, U.S. diplomatic sources said Thursday.
If Beijing unilaterally declares an air defense identification zone over the disputed waters, for example, "It will force our hand," Kerry was quoted by one of the sources as saying during the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue on June 5-7 in Beijing.
Kerry stopped short of saying what kind of countermeasures he has in mind. But he appears to have signaled actions such as strengthening U.S. freedom of navigation operations and the deployment of U.S. military units in the South China Sea.