US Navy ship nears 12-mile limit around Chinese islands

The U.S. Navy plans to send the destroyer USS Lassen within 12 nautical miles of artificial islands built by China in the South China Sea within 24 hours, in the first of a series of challenges to China’s territorial claims, a USA defense official said on Monday.

China may still opt to challenge “freedom of navigation” patrols with its coast guard, according to Mr Ian Storey, a senior fellow at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies in Singapore.

Chinese language dredging vessels are purportedly seen within the waters around Fiery Cross Reef within the disputed Spratly Islands within the South China Ocean in this nonetheless image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft offered by america Navy.

“There are billions of dollars of commerce that float through that region of the world”, White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

USA officials indicated more so-called “freedom of navigation” operations would be carried out in the future near man-made features constructed by Beijing in the South China Sea. In 2013, China declared an exclusive air zone in the East China Zone beyond its territorial waters, but both Japan and the US defied it by sending aircraft through with impunity.

Beijing said it was investigating the case to verify that the USA had indeed crossed the disputed maritime borders. And although Washington does not have a policy of taking sides when it comes to territorial disputes, it claims that it’s in its natural interests to ensure freedom of navigation and aims at finding a peaceful resolution of such conflicts.

“I agree that the South China Sea is no more China’s than the Gulf of Mexico is Mexico’s”, Adm. Harris told a Senate panel in September.

By choosing to patrol near less built-up islands, the US may be hoping to avoid a confrontation with China.

Under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, nations can claim territorial sovereignty over waters 12 nautical miles from their coastlines.

According to a report published by United States newspaper Navy Times, the country’s Navy will soon receive an approval for a mission to sail in the vicinity of the Spratly Islands.

Over the last decade, US and Chinese ships and planes have had several high-profile encounters, including the forced downing of a USA surveillance plane and Chinese efforts to ram a U.S. Navy ship.

State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Monday that the USA would not be required to consult with other nations if it chose to conduct freedom of navigation operations in global waters anywhere on the globe.

Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have rival claims.

During his recent visit to Washington, President Xi Jinping asserted Chinese claims over the area, saying “islands in the South China Sea since ancient times are China’s territory”.