Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corp. He formerly served as an intelligence adviser at the Pentagon.
A South China Sea incident could easily escalate

Soldiers of PLA Navy patrol at Woody Island, which is claimed by Vietnam, in the Paracel Archipelago in January 2016: Beijing has continued to exercise military options against Vietnam. © Reuters
Derek Grossman is a senior defense analyst at the nonprofit, nonpartisan RAND Corp. He formerly served as an intelligence adviser at the Pentagon.