The USS Lassen on Tuesday sailed within the 12 nautical mile (22.2km) territorial limit claimed by China around Subi Reef (Jhubi Reef, 渚碧礁) and Mischief Reef (Meiji Reef, 美濟礁) in the in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which Taiwan also claims.
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Australia is backing up the U.S.’s play Tuesday in which it sent a warship into waters China considers its property.
The Foreign Ministry of China said the us warship has illegally entered Chinese territory.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter has been blunt about the fact that the us “will fly, sail or operate wherever worldwide law allows”, a message reiterated by President Barack Obama. But instead of sending a combination of ships, the US only sent in a single destroyer with no accompanying aircraft.
The dispatching of the USS Lassen is allegedly the first of other such operations; reportedly, it may potentially be accompanied by a USA navy P-8A surveillance plane, as well as possibly a P-3 surveillance plane.
Custodio said with China distracted by USA presence in the South China Sea, the Philippines should take advantage of the situation and improve the country’s facilities on Pag-asa Island.
The Spratly archipelago is closer to the Philippines, a US ally, than to China. It is expected to increase tension in one of the busiest shipping in the world.
Today, the American ambassador in Beijing was called and told that the United States had threatened China’s sovereignty.
The U.S. government has been promoting a Freedom of Navigation program around the world since 1979, insisting that it is within the framework of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. China is claiming important chunks of territory in the South China Sea, making its neighbors really nervous. The USA had signaled for weeks that it would undertake the mission to exercise the right to navigate freely in worldwide waters, though it appears to have taken to pushing back against China’s growing assertiveness.
The reefs, which were submerged, were turned into islands by China by a massive dredging project which began in late 2013.
“The United States has been very irresponsible”, defense ministry spokesperson Yang Yujun said, according to Xinhua, China’s official news agency.
But when the long-awaited patrol finally arrived, it only tracked and warned away the vessel, without intervening physically.
Australia – which responded to the American patrol by declaring its “strong support” for freedom of navigation – faces strategic challenges in balancing its long-standing alliance with the U.S. alongside its interest in bolstering ties with China, its biggest trading partner and a rising global influence. “Misinterpretation by the U.S. may cause more miscalculation and could lead to crisis”, the editorial said.
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The HMAS Stuart and HMAS Arunta will visit China’s main South China Sea base of Zhanjiang in the southern province of Guangdong ahead of drills scheduled for early next week, Marise Payne said.
