The United States Navy has dismissed China’s protests over a “freedom of navigation operation” conducted near a Chinese-held island in the South China Sea.
In an uncommon move, the Navy’s 7th Fleet issued a refutation to China’s objections to their mission, calling it “the latest in a long string of (Chinese) actions to misrepresent lawful U.S. maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims” in the South China Sea.
China virtually claims sole ownership of the area in its entirety. It claims “indisputable sovereignty” over almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as well as most of the islands within it, including the Nansha Islands, known outside China as the Spratlys.
The Navy said that China’s sweeping maritime claims pose a serious threat to the freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea coastal nations.
“As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all.”
US Navy
The Navy iterated that its guided missile cruiser, USS Chancelorsville “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law.”
China described the action as illegal and stated that it mobilized naval and air assets to issue warnings and drive off the ship.
In a statement, the Chinese military claimed the USS Chancellorsville “illegally entered the waters near China’s Nansha Islands and reefs without the approval of the Chinese government.”
Spokesperson for the Southern Theater Command, Air Force Col. Tian Junli intoned “The U.S. military’s actions have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, which is further ironclad evidence of its pursuit of navigational hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea.”
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters,” Tian added.
U.S-China Rivalry Hinged On South China Sea Dispute
The South China Sea territorial conflicts involving China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei have long been regarded as a delicate fault line in the U.S.-China rivalry in the region.
While the United States lays no claims to the strategic waterway, where an estimated $5 trillion in global trade transits each year, it has said that freedom of navigation and overflight is in America’s national interest.
The South China Sea is also home to rich fishing stocks and a potential wealth of energy and mineral resources.
In July, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that annulled Beijing’s vast claims on historical grounds in the South China Sea.
On a visit to the area earlier this month, United States Vice President, Kamala Harris reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
She also announced an additional aid of $7.5 million to Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies.
That came shortly after the Philippine navy alleged a Chinese coast guard ship had forcibly seized Chinese rocket debris as Filipino sailors were towing it to their island.
