Gregory B. Poling is a senior fellow and the director of the Southeast Asia Program and the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy aircraft carrier Liaoning participates in a naval parade near Qingdao in eastern China's Shandong province, on April 23, 2019.
Philippine Navy ships participate in an amphibious landing as part of the annual U.S.-Philippines joint military exercises in Zambales province, northwest of Manila, on May 9, 2018. (Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images)
