Apr 28,2016 National Commentaries A View from the United States Inadvertent escalation or Chinese expansion? Two very different fears compete for attention in the proliferating discourse on the risk-rich imbroglio of the South China Sea. Some fear an inadvertent escalation that may unnecessarily trigger war. Others fear Chinese expansion that prepares for its hegemony. Only Xi’s China cultivates a priority fear of American expansion. Many […] Donald K. Emmerson Nine-dash line , Pax Sinica , South China Sea , sovereignty , UNCLOS