A border of 12 nautical miles can be claimed at sea and in the air around natural islands but as many of China’s reefs in the Spratly Island do not meet that definition, they are not its territory and borders cannot be enforced.
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The US Pacific Fleet commander has warned of a possible arms race in the South China Sea that may engulf the region as nations become increasingly tempted to use military force to settle territorial spats instead of global law.
In disregard of basic historical facts, the Philippines falsely claims that the Chinese people historically have carried out few activities and have had no presence in the South China Sea, and China never has sovereignty over the South China Sea Islands.
China’s Defense Ministry, without naming any countries, accused nations of making a show of force in the region.
This amounts to a calculated signal to Beijing that Australia does not accept the sea territory claims generated by China’s building of artificial islands in the area, which is subject to claims by Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and others.
The audio has been published by the BBC following a reporting assignment in the disputed Spratly archipelago.
“Foreign military aircraft in north west of Meiji reef (the Chinese name for the land mass), this is [sic] Chinese Navy…You are threatening the security of our station…In order to avoid miscalculations please stay away [sic] this area and leave immediately”.
China’s extended endeavors in South China Sea have neither been welcomed by its neighbors nor the USA, with the latter criticizing China’s autarchic advances in the disputed area.
“China Navy, China Navy”, the pilot said in the recording.
A Chinese state-owned newspaper has issued an ominous threat to Australia after an RAAF plane was detected patrolling above the South China Sea.
Taiwan on Saturday began the operation of a lighthouse, pier and reconstructed runway on a South China Sea island it administers, the Taiwanese government said.
The editorial said the Australian military should not expect to be welcomed in the airspace surrounding the disputed islands.
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“The signal is that we’ll continue with our routine operations”, he said. “In other words, we would be able to fly our aircraft right up to China’s new islands without breaking worldwide laws, and China should not interfere with our flight”. In the document on normalization of its diplomatic ties with China, Japan also made explicit commitment to complying with the relevant provisions of the Potsdam Proclamation. The waterway is important to China militarily and commercially: About 75 percent of its oil imports arrive by sea, according to China Energy News, a state-run publication. “Australia would probably welcome many countries individually doing what Australia has done, but not doing so in a coordinated fashion”.
