Blinken chides China’s ‘escalating actions’ at sea, around Taiwan

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken criticized Beijing’s “escalating and unlawful actions” in the South China Sea at a summit on Saturday, where his Russian counterpart said Washington has stoked anxiety in its plan for a nuclear deterrence with ally Seoul for the Korean peninsula.

Blinken singled out China over its coast guard’s hostile actions against U.S. defense treaty ally the Philippines in the South China Sea, but he also lauded the two countries for their diplomacy after Manila completed a resupply mission…