Earlier this week, the United States carried out its third freedom of navigation operation (FONOP) near a China-occupied feature in the South China Sea in less than a year. China has in the past accused USA aircraft and ships of entering its “military alert zone”, a term that has no meaning under UNCLOS.
Advertisement
“This action by the US side threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests, endangered the staff and facilities on the reef, and damaged regional peace and stability”, he told a daily news briefing.
As Guam gains growing importance to USA strategic interests and US war-fighting operations in the Asia-Pacific region, the report states, “China’s ability to strike the island is increasing”.
“However, we must remain vigilant and ensure that we have the resources to respond to any acts of aggression, not only from China but from countries like North Korea that continue to act irresponsibly”, she said in a press release issued Thursday, May 12.
The U.S. and China engaged in a new face-off Tuesday in the South China Sea, with an American warship sailing near disputed artificial islands claimed by Beijing, and China scrambling fighter jets to warn off the U.S. vessel. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said on Tuesday that the United States was showing off its military muscle and that these kind of patrols were the biggest threat to freedom of navigation in the disputed waters.
“This is not a pointed strategy calculated to do anything except keep a regular process of freedom of navigation operations underway”, he told reporters in London.
China rejects accusations that it is responsible for raising tensions, saying actions by the U.S. Navy and the encouragement Washington offers to other claimants such as Vietnam and the Philippines are increasing the chances of conflict.
The South China Sea is the subject of several rival and often messy territorial claims with China, Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam disputing the sovereignty of several island chains and nearby waters.
The Pentagon last month called on China to reaffirm it has no plans to deploy military aircraft in the Spratly Islands after China used a military plane to evacuate sick workers from Fiery Cross.
And the island is expected to host nearly 5,000 U.S. Marines in a Marine Corps base that’s expected to be built four years from now. On the part of China, suspicion is rising about the USA intention.
“If the world’s most powerful navy can not sail where global law permits, then what happens to the ships of navy of smaller countries?”
It was the third time a US warship exercised “freedom of navigation” in the area.
US naval officials believe China has plans to start reclamation and construction activities on Scarborough Shoal, which sits further north of the Spratlys within the Philippines-claimed 200-nautical-mile (370-km) exclusive economic zone. I think that there are concerns about China’s activities in the South China Sea, (which) are well documented.
Advertisement
Such provocations have the tendency of blowing out into a full proportional war in case of unwanted accidents that’ll end up involving multiple nations as the South China Sea dispute already has a number of Asian nations laying claim to the area.
