US sends China a strong message

Despite some exchanges between the US and Chinese militaries, South China Sea has become a major point of contention between the two governments. Within a month of Chinese president Xi Jinping's US visit, US Navy ship Lassen (a missile destroyer) has passed "within 12 nautical miles of disputed islands in the South China Sea" on Monday.

Chinese Defence Ministry said its own missile destroyer and naval patrol ship shadowed Lassen, and gave it warnings not to enter Chinese water, in compliance with international law. China saw the US move as a "coercive action that seeks to militarise the South China Sea".  They interpreted this US action, as an abuse of freedom to navigate waterways under international law.

When president Xi was in Washington DC last month, in a Rose Garden Ceremony he said, "We have the right to uphold our own territorial sovereignty and lawful and legitimate maritime rights and interests." Xi obviously didn't budge to US pressure, and said China will continue to build a slew of islands around the South China Sea.

It is not a big surprise that Washington was waiting to do this after the Chinese president left the US. According to many experts, the discussions between the two presidents regarding South China Sea, wasn't as fruitful as it was reported, and therefore, the US didn't wait too long to send China a strong message. Hence, tension between the two countries has amplified, as neither want to back down.

According to an Associated Press report on Tuesday, this particular move by the United States was approved by the White House. At a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, Defence Secretary Ashton Carter confirmed, under questioning,  that the United States has recently conducted naval operation and a "US warship had passed within 12 miles of a Chinese artificial island." Though he insisted, it was in accordance with the international law, and they were not doing anything out of the ordinary, as they routinely do it around the world. Ashton further said, USS Lassen was in the disputed area that is claimed by both Vietnam and the Philippines. The Pentagon officials have stated that US quite regularly conducts "freedom-of-navigations" operations in order to challenge extreme oceanic claim.

Amidst disputes the US-China military cooperation continues in some other areas. This past Monday, a US Navy team visited China's only aircraft carrier and a submarine warfare academy.

After the US carrier was spotted inside China's water, the Chinese Foreign Ministry wrote in its official website: "The action of the US warship have threatened China's sovereignty and security interests, jeopardised the safety of personnel and facilities on the reefs, and damaged regional peace and stability."

On the same day the US naval officials said, "This sail-past was necessary" to affirm the US position that "China's man-made" islands most certainly cannot be regarded sovereign territory, with exclusive rights to adjacent territorial waters.

A day earlier, on Monday, US defence department spokesman Commander Bill Urban told Fox News, "We are conducting routine operations in South China Sea in accordance with international law. We will fly, sail, and operate anywhere in the world that international law allows."

The US officials admitted that the Chinese authorities were not informed of Tuesday's mission.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang addressed the journalists and said, "China was strongly dissatisfied with America's actions" as China perceives this move as a threat to its dominance.  

To further strengthen the Chinese position, the Chinese embassy in Washington DC has issued a statement where it asserted similar sentiments: "…the concept of 'freedom of navigation' should not be used as an excuse for muscle-flexing and the US should refrain from saying or doing anything provocative and act responsibly in maintaining regional peace and stability."

Earlier Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had asked Washington to "act prudently to avoid provocation" and urged Washington "to think twice and not act rashly and make trouble out of nothing."

China has claims over the controversial 12-mile territorial limit around "Subi Reef in the Spratly Island archipelago, a disputed group of hundreds of reefs, islets, atolls and islands" in the South China Sea. This disagreement over ocean areas concern two major islands, namely, Paracels and Spratlys. Both of these largely uninhabited islands are claimed by China to be part of Chinese territory, and it has always maintained that South China Sea virtually belongs to it. This particular region or parts of it is also claimed by the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Taiwan and Vietnam.

Therefore, the Philippines couldn't be happier when the Lassen passed by the Chinese water which they think will keep stability and Chinese influence in place. Philippine President Benigno Aquino III supported the "US naval manoeuvres as an assertion of freedom of navigation and as a means to balance power in the region." He also blamed China for making "controversial pronouncements" and said others should challenge China on its sole territorial claim.

The major points of arguments are due to the fact that both these islands may have natural resources such as oil and natural gas reservoirs in the sea bed there. There haven't been any extensive studies done in the area since China will not allow it. It is estimated on the basis of neighbouring area's mineral resources. The South China Sea is also a primary shipping route and according to a US Department of Energy report, estimated trillions in global sea trades travel through this route annually. Out of that about $1.2 trillion in goods comes to US ports.

The South China Sea is also home to fishing grounds and many people depend on it for their livelihood.

China's military buildup in South China Sea has been an ongoing thorny issue and a major source of tension with the US, since China started to build artificial islands around the South China Sea. Satellite photographs have shown that China has been constructing a 3-km runway which will be capable of supporting fighter jets and will act as a conveyance in transferring planes. This is very worrisome for the US as it opposes restriction on freedom of navigation and China's "unlawful" sovereignty claims.

This week's unpleasant frictions have ignited alarm and the area is becoming a flashpoint with global consequences. Now, US has Australia's unwavering support. Australian defence minister Marise Payne said in a press release on Wednesday morning that the US has a right to navigation in the waters of South China Sea.

Ian Storey, a South China Sea expert based in Singapore, has assessed Washington's decision to deploy a warship, "as an intent to send China a clear message that they are serious about this. United Sates "hates" China's guts, ambition and its direct claim of territory in the South China Sea. Washington has "strong concerns" over China's island-building and it worries that China might be building military facilities in an area of a major shipping zone.

Naturally, China sees it as a threat, bullying and unwarranted US interference by sending guided-missile-destroyer in the Spratly Islands. China views it as a violation of its territorial rights in the name of "protecting freedom of navigation," by the United States. China is pondering whether US might be planning military intervention in the area. As another superpower, US has difficulty accepting China's claims in the region, no matter how unjustified it seems.

China continues to claim that the outposts that are being built in the islands of South China Sea will primarily have civilian uses and perhaps some "unidentified defence purposes," without specifying what those might be.

According to an article in the Guardian, the US ambassador to China Max Baucus was summoned in Beijing where he met with Chinese vice-foreign minister Zhang Yesui. The minister told the US ambassador that his country's decision to let pass a warship in Chinese water is "extremely irresponsible" and sent a stern message to Washington to "immediately correct its mistake."

The writer is a US-based freelance contributor.

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