An American senator on Tuesday criticized China for acting 'more like a bully' than a concerned stakeholder in the Asia-Pacific region with its rapid militarization.

Senator John McCain, chairman of the Senate armed services committee, has expressed serious concern over China's military build-up, noting that this might disturb decades of peace in the Asia-Pacific region.

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"Over the past several years China has acted less like a 'responsible stakeholder' of the rules-based order of the Asia-Pacific region and more like a bully," Senator McCain said during a congressional hearing

                                                           Rapid militarization

McCain said China's rapid militarization and increasingly assertive behavior over the years serve as a purview of whether Beijing's military rise will be peaceful or not.

"Despite US efforts to rebalance to the Asia-Pacific, US policy has failed to adapt to the scale and velocity of the challenge being faced," he asserted.

McCain cited the example of President Barack Obama, who has repeatedly called on China to stop reclamation and construction activities in the South China Sea and build-up of its military arsenal - but after a 'year of rhetoric", China continues to construct, build, and reclaim, he said.

                                                            Surface-to-air missiles

Last week, news surfaced that China has deployed surface-to-air missiles on the contested Woody Island in the Paracels which is also being claimed by Vietnam  and Taiwan.

"If true, this deployment would represent a blatant violation of Xi Jinping's September 2015 commitment to President Obama in the Rose Garden that China, quote, 'did not intend to pursue militarisation'," McCain said.

McCain admitted that China's military expansion as well as its alleged militarization of the South China Sea are making it more difficult for the US to defend its allies from military aggression and protect its national security and interests.

Speaking before the committee hearing, Pacific Command (PACOM) Commander Harry Harris said China's move to lay claim to almost the entire South China Sea is a strategic move to dominate East Asia.

TagsUS Senator John McCain, Bully, china, Pacific Command, Asia Pacific