Meanwhile, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Malaysia are set to announce their own ADIZs with U.S. backing.

China appears undeterred in the South China Sea. That doesn’t mean the United States should stand down.

China has furiously answered leaks of U.S. plans to send patrol planes and naval vessels into the South China Sea. Will the White House follow through?

It’s a bold and provocative move. Will China take the hint or try to stare the President down?

Sometime last Thursday, the US Navy said in a statement today, an American guided missile cruiser was on course to collide with a Chinese warship in the South China Sea. The close call between the USS Cowpens and the PLA warship is a sign that tension in east Asia is not going away, and that the risk of a dangerous incident is growing, not easing. And with countries throughout the region building up navies, coast guards, and maritime air forces, the area is only going to get more crowded.

Over at the Daily Beast the erudite and incisive Les Gelb wonders if the US is being too soft on China. Beijing’s ADIZ announcement, he writes, was just its latest antagonistic action. Notably, on a recent visit to the country, Vice President Biden carefully avoided stepping on anyone’s toes. Some people take this to be an American acquiescence to China’s belligerence and, less visibly, another sign of declining American influence abroad.