U.S. Sails Near Disputed Island In South China Sea

“So why then is the USA making such a concerted effort to take provocative actions against China other than to incite hostility between the two countries?” he asked, saying “as usual the USA is attempting to create conflict where none is warranted”. In May 2014, China parked a huge oil drilling platform off the Vietnamese coast in the area, prompting Vietnam to sent fishing boats and coast guard vessels to harass the rig and nearby Chinese vessels.

The excessive claims regarding Triton Island are inconsistent with global law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention, he added.

File: U.S.S. Curtis Wilbur patrols the waters of the Arabian Gulf. Since 1979, the US Freedom of Navigation program has demonstrated non-acquiescence to excessive maritime claims by coastal states all around the world.

Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou defended his visit to a disputed island in the South China Sea January 28 despite criticism from the United States and protests from the other claimants as tensions swirl in the region.

The Chinese military will “take all the necessary measures to firmly safeguard national sovereignty and security no matter what provocative actions are made by the USA side”, Yang said.

The Chinese government is under growing pressure to respond to the U.S. intrusions with more than mere warnings.

Immediately afterward, China issued a statement, condemning the U.S. and urging it “not to undermine the mutual trust and regional peace and stability”. “Contrary to what we’ve been led to believe, Xi is not interested in risking everything against the military might of the United States”.

In August, it formally presented a case against China before an global tribunal at The Hague, arguing that Beijing has no right to exercise what it refers to as “historic rights” over areas of the sea.

“The Chinese people have every reason to feel offended”, it said, noting that many comments were “much more radical than the official response”. It has controlled all the Paracels since seizing them from Vietnam in 1974. It is also a major shipping lane.

In fact, due to the shared resolve of relevant parties to keep the sea peaceful, and in no smaller part thanks to China’s restraint, the freedom of navigation in the South China Sea has never been a problem in the past nor will be one now or in the future. In recent years, the Chinese pushed hard to challenge Japan’s administration of the Senkaku, or Diaoyu islands, but, as noted by John Garnaut in The Age, they appeared to finally desist when it became clear that Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Obama would only tolerate so much.

Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said no ships from China’s military were in the vicinity of its warship as it sailed past. One of the U.S.’ goals is to bring tension back to the region, Zhang said.

Admiral Harris boasted during his CSIS presentation that “everything that is new and cool is going to the Pacific”.

The US move was clearly aimed at China. He pointed in particular to Australia, Japan, Singapore and the Philippines, where work was being done to “improve operational relationships”.

China’s Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said that Curtis Wilbur’s manoeuvres had been a “deliberate provocation”.