US Destroyer Sails In South China Sea; Former Testing Latter’s Anti Island Militarization Pledge?
The US Navy destroyer has entered the waters of South China Sea within the 12 miles of China's artificial Island on Tuesday. The U.S Navy mission is approved by President Barack Obama, according to CNN.
The mission is to challenge the China's territorial claims within the area, according to a U.S defense official reported on Reuters.
China has been claiming lands in the East China and South China seas for many years, and the projects in Spratlys have garnered criticisms from the United States and its allies, along with the Philippines. Other Asian nations together with the United States reject the validity of the islands developed by China, according to The New York Times.
Even before China's massive project in turning the usually submerged Subi and Mischief reefs in Spratlys into Islands, the USS Lassen, a guided missile US destroyer was already sailing nearby the location. "The operation has begun ... It will be complete within a few hours," the anonymous official said in a statement reported on Reuters.
An aircraft will also be flying in international airspace to take cover of the ship and reconnaissance in the air for any unexpected circumstances that might occur, according to CNN's US military source. They have given no information to the Chinese authorities and not expecting any trouble.
"This idea of what we call freedom of navigation operations is routine. As a former naval officer I can tell you I did it many, many times myself," the State Department spokesperson, John Kirby said on Monday according to CNN.
The purpose of the mission is to test China's pledge that there will be no military forces in the islands. The pledge was made by China's president Xi Jinping during the state visit last month.
The China's Foreign Minister, Wang Yi said that they were trying to double check whether the US ship has entered the 12 nautical miles vicinity. "If true, we advise the US. to think again, not to act blindly or make trouble out of nothing," Wang Yi's statement according to The Washington Post.
More patrols will be coming and "This is something that will be a regular occurrence, not a one-off event," "It's not something that's unique to China." A second US official stated on CNN.
The US Navy mission wants to stress that turning any features into artificial islands does not give any water territorial rights around them.
The China Embassy stated that the freedom of navigation shouldn't be an excuse to show the country's strength and the U.S should "refrain from saying or doing anything provocative and act responsibly in maintaining peace and regional stability," according to China state media reported on The Washington Post.
