If the US is not "containing China"then what are its aircraft carriers, warships, subs and B52 bombers doing lurking off the Chinese coast?
This is tantamount to Clinton's assertion: "I did not have sexual relations with that woman"
IMO, the US (being the dominant partner in NATO) has engineered this Ukrainian war and it is still calling the shots but like US wars in the past like Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan & Syria, it wiill , more likely than not, make a dogs dinner out of this one too.
It is silly for the above Admiral to spruik "Freedom of Navigation" when the US does not recognise the globally agreed "Law of the Sea. Did someone say "Sociopathy" ?