Ben Cardin actually said...

The relationship between the United States and China is critically important to this country. It is a complex relationship.

It does seem to me that this committee is concerned that there are a lot of risk factors in the China seas.

the more fundamental point is that China has already made a commitment; made a commitment to avoid and refrain from provocative actions that...

Unilateral action by China caused a major problem at the time that could have escalated even more than it did.