Guided missile destroyer the USS William P. Lawrence traveled within 12 nautical miles of Chinese-occupied Fiery Cross Reef, Defense Department spokesman Bill Urban said. China’s recent construction of artificial islands in the Spratly archipelago, complete with airstrips and radar stations, and USA patrols challenging Beijing’s vast territorial claims, have caused concern that the strategically important waters could become a flashpoint.
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It is essential to make sure freedom of navigation, a principle based on global law, is realized through continued patrols by US warships in areas China insists constitutes its territorial waters.
In a strongly worded statement, the Defense Ministry said it deployed two navy fighter jets, one early warning aircraft and three ships to track and warn-off the destroyer USS William P. Lawrence as it passed nearby Fiery Cross Reef on Tuesday.
Later, the Chinese Ministry of Defense said that three Chinese aircraft and three warships had “expelled” the US vessel from China’s waters. Because the Philippines’ maritime claims in relation to South China Sea features do not purport to restrict the exercise of navigation rights and freedoms under the Law of the Sea by the United States and others, they were not challenged during this operation.
Reiterating Beijing’s refusal to recognize Manila’s case, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the Philippines was using the case to negate China’s territorial sovereignty.
Since 1979, the U.S. Freedom of Navigation program has demonstrated non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal States all around the world.
Speaking in Hanoi ahead of Obama’s visit, Daniel Russel, the Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific, said freedom of navigation operations were important for smaller nations.
“I would say to China: ‘Do not claim anything here and I will also not insist that it is ours.’ But then I will just keep a blind eye”, he told reporters, who waited with him for the results of an unofficial count that showed him winning with a hefty 40 percent of the vote.
China said the move was illegal and “damaged regional peace”.
The U.S. presence in the South China Sea has been higher in recent weeks.
According to global agreements, each coastal state may lay claim to territorial sea up to 12 nautical miles from the land’s coast, explains the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “It is a show of US determination ahead of President Obama’s trip to Vietnam later this month”, Storey added.
The Philippines has challenged Beijing before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, in a case Beijing has not recognized. China has refused to acknowledge or participate in the arbitration, arguing the tribunal lacks jurisdiction and that disputes should be resolved bilaterally.
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According to the official Xinhua News Agency, the ships will be joined by forces based in the Spratly and Paracel islands, where China has embarked on massive island-building to expand and reinforce the reefs it controls in the disputed region. And on the other hand, China is determined to work together with countries in this region to pursue a win-win approach through joint cooperation.
