“Now is the time for the United States to make clear that the Lassen’s transit was not simply a one-off event, or a goal in and of itself”, Forbes said.
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With China, Australia is seeking to bolster economic ties.
It said it has set hearings and expects to hand down a decision on the case next year.
“Our basic position is to promote the freedom of navigation recognizing that the South China Sea or the West Philippine Sea is one of the most important arteries for global commerce”. The tribunal on Thursday decided it has jurisdiction in the case. A US ally, the Philippines, contends that they do not.
China has rejected a United Nations-backed tribunal’s decision to hear a case brought by the Philippines on an ongoing dispute in the South China Sea, saying it will neither participate nor be bound by any judgment made. China roughly demarcates this vast area on maps with a nine-dash line.
Despite China’s latest legal setback, both Glaser and Cook apprehended that there would be no change in China’s plans.
“Further action would be taken to ensure China’s national sovereignty, the Chinese government promised”.
Beijing insists it has sovereign rights to almost all of the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which about a third of all the world’s traded oil passes. China has also stated that this sea zone is the busiest sea lane around its seven artificial islands.
Glaser said China views these waters off its east coast as vital to its security.
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.
The piece claimed in the face of “US harassment” Beijing should “deal with Washington tactfully and prepare for the worst”. In fact, the opposite has happened.
Beijing claims sovereignty over nearly the entire South China Sea, dismissing claims to parts of it from Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei.
The Chinese side respects and safeguards the freedom of navigation and over-flight in the South China Sea to which all countries are entitled under worldwide law, but stands firmly against the harm caused by any country to China’s sovereignty and security interests under the cloak of navigation and over-flight freedom.
With reports that China was furious to find one of US destroyers sailing close to disputed islands, political experts are weighing in whether or not Beijing has what it takes to respond to such USA “provocations” with military force. Freedom of navigation operations are not a challenge to the sovereignty of land features.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry also lashed out at the bypass by the USS Lassen, calling the path taken by the American warship “illegal” and said that the us had proceeded with the naval mission despite “repeated warnings” by the government of China in Beijing.
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She said the Royal Australian Navy has a long history of engagement with regional navies and it conducts port visits and exercises with many countries including China.
