A U.S. admiral says American forces are ready with a “range of options” to deal with increasing acts of aggression in the disputed South China Sea after consultations with treaty ally the Philippines. Indo-Pacific Command chief Adm. Samuel Paparo refused to provide details of the contingency options. He was asked about it on Thursday at a news conference in the Philippines what the longtime treaty allies could do to deal with China’s so-called gray-zone tactics in the disputed waters. The tactics refer to types of assault like water cannon fire and the blocking and ramming of rival ships in the disputed waters that are under the threshold of an actual armed attack and wouldn't allow the Philippines to invoke its 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty with the U.S.
