image source,US Navy
The Chinese military said that the US guided-missile destroyer USS Bamford had illegally entered the waters near the Paracel Islands. The PLA’s southern theater deployed warships and military aircraft to warn it to leave.
Recently, the Chinese military said that it warned the US destroyers to leave the Xisha Islands. At the same time, some commented that China’s safeguarding of the interests of the South China Sea has shifted from emphasizing the “nine-dash line” to focusing on safeguarding the South China Sea Islands.
China’s military said the People’s Liberation Army deployed sea and air forces on Tuesday (January 18) to track and warn off the US guided-missile destroyer USS Benfold after it entered the South China Sea.
A spokesman for the People’s Liberation Army’s southern theater said on Thursday (January 20) that the U.S. Arleigh Burke-class destroyer “illegally entered” waters near the Paracel Islands, and the PLA’s southern theater deployed warships and aircraft to warn it to leave.
Air Force Colonel Tian Junli, a spokesman for the Southern Theater Command, said that the U.S. warship “seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security” and “solemnly asks the U.S. side to immediately stop such provocative actions, otherwise it will bear the serious consequences of unforeseen events.”
Tian Junli also pointed out that the United States is “the maker of security risks in the South China Sea” and the “biggest destroyer” of peace and stability in the South China Sea.
However, the U.S. Navy issued a statement rebutting that China’s above-mentioned claims violated international law and “posed a serious threat to freedom of the seas.”
image source,Reuters / CSIS / AMIT / DigitalGlobe
In 2017, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) released a satellite image of the reclamation of Mischief Reef to build an airport.
“Freedom to Navigate”
U.S. warships frequently sail within a 12-nautical-mile baseline of the country’s claimed territory during freedom of navigation operations. The U.S. Navy statement said the Bamford destroyer left the waters after completing freedom of navigation operations in the Paracel Islands, which China calls the Paracel Islands.
The statement added that the Bamford’s freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea also challenged the sovereign positions of Vietnam and Taiwan in the South China Sea.
Countries surrounding the South China Sea, such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and the Philippines, all have claims to the South China Sea.
China, Vietnam and Taiwan all require warships to give advance notice of “innocent passage” before entering waters they claim. But the U.S. Navy stated that the unilateral advance notice requirement for “innocent passage” was not lawful.
Although the United States says it does not support any country’s sovereign position in the South China Sea, U.S. warships frequently conduct freedom-of-navigation operations in the South China Sea, which are mainly considered to be directed at China.
The South China Sea is the busiest international shipping lane. Chinese media have reported that the Chinese navy has publicly stated that the sovereignty of the South China Sea belongs to China’s core interests, and that it will defend the core interests of the South China Sea, not afraid of any military provocation, and will not make concessions on the issue of territorial sovereignty.
“Core Interest”
The USS Bamford also conducted freedom of navigation operations near Mischief Reef in the Nansha Islands last year, when the Chinese military also said it would drive away US ships that entered China’s territorial waters.
China has carried out large-scale island expansion and construction in Mischief Reef, a territorial dispute with the Philippines. U.S. reports say China is turning it into a full-scale military base. Moreover, China has delineated an area of 1.3 million square kilometers in the South China Sea into its own territory through straight baselines.
The U.S. Navy statement said that China has drawn a straight baseline to include all waters within the relevant island chain, and the action of the destroyer USS Bamford is designed to challenge China’s practice. The statement said that international law does not allow mainland countries to enclose the entire archipelago with a straight line.
At the same time, some ASEAN countries have noticed that China’s position in the South China Sea has shifted from emphasizing the “nine-dash line” to focusing on safeguarding the rights and interests of the South China Sea Islands, namely the Dongsha, Xisha, Zhongsha and Nansha Islands claimed by China.
According to Indian media reports, Malaysian Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah recently told reporters that the position of focusing on safeguarding the sovereignty of the South China Sea Islands is more serious than the “nine-dash line” position in the past.