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China says U.S. naval destroyer sailing close to Chinese-built island damages peace and stability
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Photos: New satellite imagery of Chinese island-building View Graphic
By Simon Denyer October 27 at 12:37 PM
BEIJING — China denounced what it called a “dangerous and provocative” act Tuesday after an American warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese-built artificial island at a center of regional dispute over maritime territory and sea routes.
The incident reflects rising tensions between the United States and China over Beijing’s aggressive program of land reclamation and construction on rocks and reefs in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, whose shores include Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
The U.S. naval action — which followed months of debate in Washington — was intended to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation in international waters, U.S. officials said, and underscores that Washington does not accept China’s claim to territorial waters around the man-made islands.
[U.S. warship sails within 12 miles of Chinese-built island]
Experts said it was also aimed at reassuring nervous American allies that Washington would not allow Beijing to throw its weight around in the region unchallenged. But there is a risk it could raise military tensions.
USE LINK FOR VIDEO - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-says-us-naval-destroyer-sailing-close-to-chinese-built-island-damages-peace-and-stability/2015/10/27/25b254b4-7c7a-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop_b
China warns U.S. over patrols in South China Sea
Play Video1:11
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer is challenging Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned the U.S. to "think again and not to act blindly or make trouble from nothing," but more patrols are planned for the coming weeks. (Reuters)
China said it viewed the move as an infringement on its sovereignty and claimed it would damage regional peace and stability.
The foreign ministry warned that Beijing might respond by speeding up its construction program. More ominously, the Chinese navy said further U.S. missions of this sort could “trigger eventualities” — without elaborating.
China said it had monitored, followed the USS Lassen as it passed close to the Subi reef, sending out a missile destroyer and a patrol boat of its own to deliver the warning.
But a U.S. defense official said the mission had been completed “without incident.” The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, was accompanied by Navy surveillance planes, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The decision to go ahead followed months of deliberation in Washington, reflecting the fine balance between standing up to China and potentially provoking a spiral of further confrontation and regional militarization.
[Navy told China in advance to expect ship]
Last month, Beijing warned it would “never allow any country” to violate what it considers to be its territorial waters and airspace around the islands.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the U.S. vessel entered Chinese waters “illegally and without the Chinese government’s permission,” adding that Chinese authorities had tracked and warned it as it passed.
“The action by the U.S. warship has threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests, endangered the safety of personnel and facilities on the islands and damaged regional peace and stability,” he said, urging the United States to “correct its wrongdoing immediately” and not take further “dangerous and provocative actions.”
Referring to the United States, he told a news conference: “If certain parties continue to stir up trouble and create tension, then China may be forced to come to the conclusion that it is indeed necessary for us to speed up and strengthen relevant capacity building (on the islands).”
Hours later, China’s vice foreign minister, Zhang Yesui, summoned U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus to deliver a formal protest. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had urged the United States “not to act blindly or make trouble out of nothing.”
China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its territory, including the main islands and reefs, and has argued that giving up that claim would “shame its ancestors.” The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims, and several of them also occupy different islands, reefs and rocks.
A massive Chinese program of land reclamation and construction on several islands has taken place since 2014, upsetting ties with the United States and several of those rival claimants.
[As island expands, so do diplomatic complications]
This week’s naval mission is also partly intended to test a pledge made by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Washington last month that Beijing would not militarize the islands.
Subi Reef, which lies close to the Philippines, used to be submerged at high tide before China began a massive dredging project to turn it into an island. It is now big enough to potentially host an airstrip.
Satellite images also show what looks like a surveillance tower and multiple satellite antennas on Subi reef, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Under the international law of the sea, turning such features into artificial islands does not imply any rights to territorial waters around them, something the U.S. mission is designed to underline — although countries can claim a “safety zone” of just 500 meters around previously submerged reefs.
A Chinese airstrip is already under construction at Fiery Cross reef, and experts say another could potentially soon be built at Mischief reef. China says the construction work is primarily designed for civilian use and will not affect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Four other countries already have airstrips in the Spratlys.
[Photos: China’s rapid island-building strategy continues]
While the exercise would probably not stop China from further construction or militarization of air strips on the reefs, there were still good reasons to go ahead, said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on the Chinese military at CSIS.
“Some parts of the administration believed this would make things even more difficult, that China would become even more obstreperous, more difficult to deal with,” she said, “and others thought this wasn’t something we should do before Xi Jinping came to Washington.”
But in Beijing, retired Rear Admiral Yang Yi, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies of the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University said it would damage U.S-China relations and only encourage China to speed up construction on the islands, and possibly also their militarization.
“The act is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible,” he said. “It shows the United States has the mentality of the big brother but the temper of a child. If it becomes a regular thing, military conflict in the region is inevitable and the US would be the one who started it.”
The Global Times newspaper said Chinese should “stay calm and handle the harassment rationally.” It advised the U.S. warship to just “go through the motions and get lost,” but said if it stopped to carry out other activities, China should consider electronic interference, sending military planes to fly over it, or even ships to ram it.
[Chinese activity in South China Sea poses complications for Obama]
At September’s summit, President Obama told Xi that the United States would operate, fly or sail anywhere that international law allows.
Additional patrols will follow in coming weeks, and could also be conducted around features that have been built up by Vietnam and the Philippines in the Spratlys, a U.S. defense official told the Reuters news agency.
“This is something that will be a regular occurrence, not a one-off event,” the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s not something that’s unique to China.”
Yanmei Xie, senior China researcher at the International Crisis Group in Beijing said there was a risk of miscalculation and accidental clashes in such actions, but added that inaction would also have carried risks.
“It is a risky maneuver, but there is no risk-free prescription,” she said.
“Inaction would amount to acquiescing to the practice of taking unilateral actions to change the status quo in disregard of the international law of the sea,” she added. “It would undermine the credibility of the U.S. as an underwriter of regional security. It would sow doubt among American allies and friends about the U.S. commitment and the durability of its presence in the region.”
Xu Yangjingjing in Beijing, and Craig Whitlock and Steven Mufson in Washington contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-says-us-naval-destroyer-sailing-close-to-chinese-built-island-damages-peace-and-stability/2015/10/27/25b254b4-7c7a-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop_b
Resize Text
Print Article
Comments 528
Photos: New satellite imagery of Chinese island-building View Graphic By Simon Denyer October 27 at 12:37 PM
BEIJING — China denounced what it called a “dangerous and provocative” act Tuesday after an American warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of a Chinese-built artificial island at a center of regional dispute over maritime territory and sea routes.
The incident reflects rising tensions between the United States and China over Beijing’s aggressive program of land reclamation and construction on rocks and reefs in the Spratly archipelago in the South China Sea, whose shores include Vietnam, Taiwan and the Philippines.
The U.S. naval action — which followed months of debate in Washington — was intended to uphold the principle of freedom of navigation in international waters, U.S. officials said, and underscores that Washington does not accept China’s claim to territorial waters around the man-made islands.
[U.S. warship sails within 12 miles of Chinese-built island]
Experts said it was also aimed at reassuring nervous American allies that Washington would not allow Beijing to throw its weight around in the region unchallenged. But there is a risk it could raise military tensions.
USE LINK FOR VIDEO - https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-says-us-naval-destroyer-sailing-close-to-chinese-built-island-damages-peace-and-stability/2015/10/27/25b254b4-7c7a-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop_b
China warns U.S. over patrols in South China Sea
Play Video1:11
A U.S. guided-missile destroyer is challenging Beijing's territorial claims in the South China Sea. China's foreign minister Wang Yi warned the U.S. to "think again and not to act blindly or make trouble from nothing," but more patrols are planned for the coming weeks. (Reuters)
China said it viewed the move as an infringement on its sovereignty and claimed it would damage regional peace and stability.
The foreign ministry warned that Beijing might respond by speeding up its construction program. More ominously, the Chinese navy said further U.S. missions of this sort could “trigger eventualities” — without elaborating.
China said it had monitored, followed the USS Lassen as it passed close to the Subi reef, sending out a missile destroyer and a patrol boat of its own to deliver the warning.
But a U.S. defense official said the mission had been completed “without incident.” The USS Lassen, a guided-missile destroyer, was accompanied by Navy surveillance planes, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The decision to go ahead followed months of deliberation in Washington, reflecting the fine balance between standing up to China and potentially provoking a spiral of further confrontation and regional militarization.
[Navy told China in advance to expect ship]
Last month, Beijing warned it would “never allow any country” to violate what it considers to be its territorial waters and airspace around the islands.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said the U.S. vessel entered Chinese waters “illegally and without the Chinese government’s permission,” adding that Chinese authorities had tracked and warned it as it passed.
“The action by the U.S. warship has threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests, endangered the safety of personnel and facilities on the islands and damaged regional peace and stability,” he said, urging the United States to “correct its wrongdoing immediately” and not take further “dangerous and provocative actions.”
Referring to the United States, he told a news conference: “If certain parties continue to stir up trouble and create tension, then China may be forced to come to the conclusion that it is indeed necessary for us to speed up and strengthen relevant capacity building (on the islands).”
Hours later, China’s vice foreign minister, Zhang Yesui, summoned U.S. Ambassador Max Baucus to deliver a formal protest. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi had urged the United States “not to act blindly or make trouble out of nothing.”
China claims almost all of the South China Sea as its territory, including the main islands and reefs, and has argued that giving up that claim would “shame its ancestors.” The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan also have overlapping claims, and several of them also occupy different islands, reefs and rocks.
A massive Chinese program of land reclamation and construction on several islands has taken place since 2014, upsetting ties with the United States and several of those rival claimants.
[As island expands, so do diplomatic complications]
This week’s naval mission is also partly intended to test a pledge made by President Xi Jinping during his visit to Washington last month that Beijing would not militarize the islands.
Subi Reef, which lies close to the Philippines, used to be submerged at high tide before China began a massive dredging project to turn it into an island. It is now big enough to potentially host an airstrip.
Satellite images also show what looks like a surveillance tower and multiple satellite antennas on Subi reef, according to the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative, part of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Under the international law of the sea, turning such features into artificial islands does not imply any rights to territorial waters around them, something the U.S. mission is designed to underline — although countries can claim a “safety zone” of just 500 meters around previously submerged reefs.
A Chinese airstrip is already under construction at Fiery Cross reef, and experts say another could potentially soon be built at Mischief reef. China says the construction work is primarily designed for civilian use and will not affect freedom of navigation in the South China Sea. Four other countries already have airstrips in the Spratlys.
[Photos: China’s rapid island-building strategy continues]
While the exercise would probably not stop China from further construction or militarization of air strips on the reefs, there were still good reasons to go ahead, said Bonnie Glaser, an expert on the Chinese military at CSIS.
“Some parts of the administration believed this would make things even more difficult, that China would become even more obstreperous, more difficult to deal with,” she said, “and others thought this wasn’t something we should do before Xi Jinping came to Washington.”
But in Beijing, retired Rear Admiral Yang Yi, a researcher at the Institute of Strategic Studies of the People’s Liberation Army National Defense University said it would damage U.S-China relations and only encourage China to speed up construction on the islands, and possibly also their militarization.
“The act is reckless, dangerous and irresponsible,” he said. “It shows the United States has the mentality of the big brother but the temper of a child. If it becomes a regular thing, military conflict in the region is inevitable and the US would be the one who started it.”
The Global Times newspaper said Chinese should “stay calm and handle the harassment rationally.” It advised the U.S. warship to just “go through the motions and get lost,” but said if it stopped to carry out other activities, China should consider electronic interference, sending military planes to fly over it, or even ships to ram it.
[Chinese activity in South China Sea poses complications for Obama]
At September’s summit, President Obama told Xi that the United States would operate, fly or sail anywhere that international law allows.
Additional patrols will follow in coming weeks, and could also be conducted around features that have been built up by Vietnam and the Philippines in the Spratlys, a U.S. defense official told the Reuters news agency.
“This is something that will be a regular occurrence, not a one-off event,” the official said, also speaking on condition of anonymity. “It’s not something that’s unique to China.”
Yanmei Xie, senior China researcher at the International Crisis Group in Beijing said there was a risk of miscalculation and accidental clashes in such actions, but added that inaction would also have carried risks.
“It is a risky maneuver, but there is no risk-free prescription,” she said.
“Inaction would amount to acquiescing to the practice of taking unilateral actions to change the status quo in disregard of the international law of the sea,” she added. “It would undermine the credibility of the U.S. as an underwriter of regional security. It would sow doubt among American allies and friends about the U.S. commitment and the durability of its presence in the region.”
Xu Yangjingjing in Beijing, and Craig Whitlock and Steven Mufson in Washington contributed to this report.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/china-says-us-naval-destroyer-sailing-close-to-chinese-built-island-damages-peace-and-stability/2015/10/27/25b254b4-7c7a-11e5-beba-927fd8634498_story.html?tid=pm_world_pop_b
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