In fact, Washington is reported to have deliberated for several months such “freedom of navigation” patrols in the area, through which one-third of global trade passes. A U.S. Navy destroyer sailed within 22 kilometers of one of the islands earlier this week, angering China.
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“We would just flatly disagree”, he said. The US has said that the man-made features that were formerly submerged can not be subject to the territorial claim. China’s island construction program has encroached on Vietnamese and Filipino territory. Recognising the USA’s absenteeism in the debate, Senator John McCain had commented, ‘We continue to restrict our navy from operating within a 12 nautical mile zone of China’s reclaimed islands, a unsafe mistake that grants de facto recognition of China’s manmade sovereignty claims’.
“We shall never stop our pace, nor shall we submit to humiliation”.
Lu promised, “China will firmly react to this deliberate provocation.’ He said such actions would force China to ‘speed up and strengthen relevant capacity” on its claimed South China Sea islands. Rather, the operation was aimed at asserting the rights of military and civilian vessels to operate anywhere allowed by worldwide law.
Sino-Japanese ties, also plagued by the two countries’ wartime past, concerns over Tokyo’s bolder security stance and Beijing’s increasing military assertiveness, have thawed a little in the previous year. But this is no reason for the United States to overlook China’s self-righteous actions.
“It’s a clear attempt to escalate the situation and to militarize the region. So we’re very concerned about that”, he added.
On seven other submissions, including that China had violated the Philippines’ sovereign right to exploit its own territorial waters, the court said it would reserve judgment about jurisdiction until it had decided the merits of the case.
The tribunal, which conducts its hearings behind closed doors, said the Philippines has stressed it is not asking arbitrators “to decide the question of sovereignty over maritime features in the South China Sea that are claimed by both the Philippines and China” or rule on maritime boundaries in the region.
Chen was asked about media reports that Washington is next to send aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt on the same route during a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.
“If you’re in the South China Sea, you can expect to be shadowed”.
The decision to hear the two countries’ claims was a defeat for China, experts said.
America’s Asian allies were supportive of the warship passage, with the Philippines government voicing the most open backing.
Based on the EEZ, the Philippines has the strongest claim on the Spratlys and their resources, with its EEZ covering much of the area.
Australia’s defence minister, Marise Payne, confirmed on Thursday that planned military exercises with China were set to proceed.
“We believe fundamentally in the principle of freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight and we will continue to do that in accordance with worldwide law”.
While cooperating closely with the United States and other countries concerned, Japan should keep a watch on China’s moves in the South China Sea.
Tuesday’s mission by the U.S. Navy was ostensibly a routine exercise in freedom of navigation.
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Law does not deter China’s maritime imperialists.
