China says authorities monitored and warned the destroyer USS Lassen as it entered what China claims as a 12-mile (21-kilometer) territorial limit around Subi Reef in the Spratly Islands archipelago, a group of reefs, islets, and atolls where the Philippines has competing claims.
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“If the United States continues to carry out these kinds of risky, provocative acts, there could be a serious situation between frontline forces from both sides on the sea and in the air, or even a minor incident that could spark conflict”, Wu said.
“We will continue to approach disputes in this way, including with the Philippines, and to jointly safeguard the peace and stability of the South China Sea”.
Washington accuses Beijing of conducting a massive “land reclamation” program through building artificial islands in the South China Sea, warning that China’s projects could further militarize the region.
The US Navy stressed that it is entitled to “protect the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under worldwide law”.
The disputed territories in the South China Sea are resource rich and are also claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.
In welcoming the tribunal’s decision, the official cited the statement of President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino who said: “Who wouldn’t be happy that what we call the rule of law prevailed?” For the USA, the South China Sea remain worldwide waters.
In Canberra, Defence Minister Marise Payne said that while Australia was not involved in the current U.S. exercise in the South China Sea, it was “important to recognise that all states have a right under worldwide law to freedom of navigation and freedom of overflight, including in the South China Sea”.
It said, “Reviewing the claims submitted by the Philippines, the Tribunal has rejected the argument set out in China’s Position Paper that the Parties’ dispute is actually about sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea and therefore beyond the Tribunal’s jurisdiction”.
The Lassen, the US Navy pointed out, also sailed through waters claimed by the Philippines and Vietnam.
China claims most of the South China Sea, through which more than $5 trillion of world trade transits every year.
China’s military has released photos of armed fighter jets flying over the South China Sea, which are believed to have taken off from a group of islands Beijing claims to have sovereignty over.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS), to which the Philippines and China are both signatories, rocks do not generate maritime entitlement beyond 12 miles (19 kilometers).
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China, which considers this to be its backyard (its own Hawaii) feels that the US should bugger off and everyone should listen to them because “China is a big country, and all other countries are small”.
