US says open to patrols with Philippines in waters disputed with China

Ironically, Washington unreasonably pointed its fingers at China, accusing Beijing of posing a threat to the “freedom of navigation” in the South China Sea and taking measures of “challenging the worldwide order”.

Triton is also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan, but since 1974 the entirety of the Paracel Island group has been controlled by China. The United States is flexing its military muscle, sending a warship to the South China Sea over the weekend.

US Ambassador Philip Goldberg, whose country is also at odds with China over Beijing’s claim to nearly the whole 3.5-million-square-kilometer South China Sea, also attended the reception.

“It is, in essence, a pursuit of maritime hegemony by the United States under the cloak of freedom of navigation, which has been met with firm opposition from members of the worldwide community, developing countries in particular”, said Lu.

On the South China Sea, Air Marshal Davies said island-building by Beijing meant the People’s Liberation Army had a much greater presence in the area which was being felt by Australian air craft patrolling the area under the long-running Operation Gateway.

The excessive claims regarding Triton Island are inconsistent with worldwide law as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention.

The U.S. has claimed the attempts to restrict navigational rights by requiring prior notice are inconsistent with worldwide law and pledged to regularly carry out similar maneuvers.

Unlike Vietnam, China’s Defense Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun called the US move a “deliberate provocation”, according to the official Xinhuanet news site.

China condemned the USA action as provocative.

Despite the fact that some of the man-made islands are close to 1,000 miles south of China’s southernmost point in Hainan, it has since attempted to deny access to other nations travelling through the airspace and waters nearby the islands.

In October, the Navy sailed the USS Lassen, another guided missile destroyer, near the Spratly Islands – a different set of islands and reefs claimed by China.

The United States responded soon after, and on November 26, 2013, it flew two B-52 bombers through the region, which is still recognized as global airspace by all except the Chinese regime. It disregards sovereignty, security and maritime interests of coastal countries and jeopardizes the region’s peace and stability, Lu said. In May 2014, China parked a huge oil drilling platform off the Vietnamese coast in the area, prompting Vietnam to send fishing boats and coast guard vessels to harass the rig and nearby Chinese vessels.