Washington, Oct. 8 -- The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has been accused of carrying out a long-term and calculated strategy to expand its territorial and maritime claims across the Indo-Pacific without triggering open warfare, as reported by The Epoch Times.

According to The Epoch Times, during a hearing of the US Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) warned that China's creeping expansion mirrors Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions in Crimea in 2014.

He said that several successive US administrations had failed to effectively respond because Beijing's tactics deliberately stayed below the threshold of direct military confrontation. ...