The US yesterday said it sent a naval ship near a contested island in the South China Sea to challenge the “excessive maritime claims that restrict the rights and freedoms of the United States and others”.
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The “freedom of navigation operation” took the vessel within 12 miles of Triton Island, said Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said on Saturday that under a Chinese law enacted in 1992, foreign warships entering China’s territorial waters must obtain approval from the Chinese government.
China is not taking the action lightly – A defense ministry spokesman called the move, “a deliberate provocation” adding, “The U.S. act severely violated Chinese law, sabotaged the peace, security and the good order of the water, and undermined the region’s peace and stability”.
He said that the USA operation was “very unprofessional and irresponsible for the safety of the troops of both sides, and may cause extremely unsafe consequences”.
In a similar operation in October, another United States guided-missile destroyer sailed close to one of those manmade islands, infuriating Beijing.
China claims sovereignty over an nearly equal area of waters as Taiwan does in the South China Sea.
The U.S. says it doesn’t take a position on who has sovereignty over land features in the South China Sea, but is opposed to the restrictions imposed by any country on navigation rights and freedoms around a feature such as Triton.
The US will no doubt seek to contrast China’s reaction to the latest “freedom of navigation” operation with that of Vietnam. The incident took place just days after U.S. Pacific Commander Harry Harris vowed to continue to challenge China’s position on the South China Sea during a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.
The operation followed calls in Congress for the Obama administration to follow up on the October operation. “All maritime claims must comply with worldwide law”.
Xu Guangyu, a retired major general and senior researcher at the China Arms Control and Disarmament Association, said Beijing had prepared different responses to Washington, with the possibility of speeding up construction in the South China Sea and conducting military test flights at the new airports there.
China has condemned the United States for sailing a warship in the disputed South China Sea, accusing it of “undermining” peace and stability in the region.
“The PRC which has occupied the Xisha Islands since the 1970s thus serves as the representative of the Chinese nation, irrespective of which regime is considered”.
Payne declared that Australia had “a legitimate interest” because 60 percent of Australian exports passed through the South China Sea.
“Their jurisdiction under the global law is limited to only the Northern part of the South China Sea but the South China Sea extends more than that”.
China claims nearly the entire South China Sea and its islands, reefs and atolls on historic grounds.
In a statement released on Sunday, Australia said it strongly supports the US” action in the disputed waters which military observers have described as “provocative” and “challenging’.
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China apparently intends to step up pressure on neighboring countries by forming a “united front” with Taiwan, under the name of the Chinese nation.
