A US Navy warship has sailed past one of China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea in a move that drew an angry reaction from Beijing.
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“There have been naval operations in that region in recent days, and there will be in the weeks and months”, Carter told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing yesterday when asked about news reports that United States warship entered the 12 mile zone of an island in South China Sea which is claimed by China as its territory.
The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, was expected to be accompanied by a US Navy P-8A surveillance plane and a P-3 surveillance plane, according to the unnamed official, speaking to United States media.
Spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, Zhu Haiquan, said the U.S. should “refrain from saying or doing anything provocative, and act responsibly in maintaining regional peace and stability”.
Last month, Beijing warned it would “never allow any country” to violate what it considers to be its territorial waters and airspace around the islands. As Gordon Lubold of the Wall Street Journal explains, the USA did not claim innocent passage for today’s sail-by as that would imply recognition of China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea.
He expressed “strong discontentment” and “resolute opposition” over the US patrol and called on Washington to “immediately correct its wrongdoing” and abide by its promise not to take sides on the South China Sea issue.
CNN reported that the patrol had been approved by U.S. President Barack Obama, while a US defense official told Reuters that additional patrols would follow in coming weeks.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5-trillion of world trade passes every year.
Defence Minister Marise Payne said in a statement all states have a right under global law to freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, including in the South China Sea.
“In fact, if relevant parties insist on creating tensions in the region and making trouble out of nothing, it may force China to draw the conclusion that we need to strengthen and hasten the buildup of our relevant capabilities”.
China’s claim of sovereignty in those waters, along with its rapid construction of the artificial islands, has heightened tensions in the region.
President Benigno Aquino’s nation believes China is boosting its military capabilities near where Beijing and Manila are locked in a standoff over islets the Philippines claims.
“The Chinese government will resolutely safeguard territorial sovereignty and legal sea interests, and China will do whatever necessary to oppose deliberate provocation from any country”, he said. “So again, without speaking to specific operations, it’s the Secretary’s desire that our relationship with China will continue to deepen”, Kirby said.
Pentagon officials say that the USA regularly conducts freedom-of-navigation operations in various places around the world to challenge excessive maritime claims.
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According to the statement, China is in talks with neighboring countries on the Code of Conduct in the South China Sea.
