Less than a week after a Hague tribunal found that China has no territorial rights in the South China Sea, contrary to Beijing’s “Nine Dash Line” claims, China has made it abundantly clear that it will no comply with the ruling when overnight a senior Chinese admiral said that Freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end “in disaster” while also announcing the unexpected start of navy drills in the contested waters, in the most direct warning to the United States yet.
According to AP, Hainan’s maritime administration said an area southeast of the island province would be closed from Monday to Thursday, but gave no details about the nature of the exercises. The announcement came during a three-day visit to China by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson to discuss the South China Sea dispute and ways to increase interaction between the two militaries, which continue to have a tense relationship.
Chinese missile frigate Yuncheng launches an anti-ship missile during a military exercise in the waters near south China’s Hainan Island and Paracel Islands, July 8, 2016
Further provoking a US response, Beijing also stated that it would not halt the construction on islands and reefs in the South China Sea, state news agency Xinhua reported the head of the country’s navy as saying, adding that China will not leave the outcropping that is under construction half finished. Furthermore, despite the meeting between the US and Chinese militaries, Sun Jianguo, an admiral and deputy chief of the Joint Staff Department of China’s Central Military Commission, said behind closed doors on Saturday that freedom of navigation patrols by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end “in disaster,” according to Reuters.
“When has freedom of navigation in the South China Sea ever been affected? It has not, whether in the past or now, and in the future there won’t be a problem as long as nobody plays tricks,” Sun said.
“But China consistently opposes so-called military freedom of navigation which brings with it a military threat, and which challenges and disrespects the international law of the sea,” Sun added.
“This kind of military freedom of navigation is damaging to freedom of navigation in the South China Sea, and it could even play out in a disastrous way,” he said, without elaborating.
He said the court case at The Hague must be used by China’s armed forces to improve its capabilities “so that when push comes to shove, the military can play a decisive role in the last moment to defend our national sovereignty and interests”.
With tensions in the South China Sea already riding high, the comments are seen as the loudest warning to the US, which has conducted such patrols close to Chinese-held islands over the past year. Those patrols prompted Beijing to send fighter jets and ships to track and warn off the American ships, while accusing the US of threatening its national security.
In a further development, Chinese air force spokesman Shen Jinke was quoted by state media as saying that air force fighters and bombers had recently conducted patrols over the South China Sea and would make that “a regular practice” in future.
In short,
Despite the warnings, China and the United States have been maintaining open lines of communication, with U.S. Chief of Naval Operations John Richardson meeting the head of the Chinese navy, Wu Shengli, in Beijing on Monday. “I think that you can visit China this time at our invitation, that shows both sides attach great concern to maritime security,” Wu told Richardson in brief comments in front of reporters.
Victor Gao, director of the China National Association of International Studies, told RT that he believes the US was “very much involved in this arbitration case brought by the Philippines…trying to put pressure on China.”
“China will stand firm on the matter of principle and China will also use all military resources to make sure that the US will not win this battle against China,” he said.
Separately, in yet another act of defiance to the trbunal verdict, China landed two civilian aircraft on new airstrips on the disputed Mischief and Subi reefs and dispatched its coast guard to block a Philippine fishing boat from reaching a contested shoal.
The small glimmer of good news is that according to the latest US Naval map update, where there were two US aircraft carriers in the South China Sea, now there is just one, as the John Stennis – after hosting Joe Biden on July 14 while the ship and John C. Stennis Strike Group (JCSSG) were participating in the Rim of the Pacific maritime exercise – appears to be quietly leaving the area.
Everyone seems to only focus on navigation rights but that’s not all that’s involved. There are also fishing right. That area has some of the richest fishing areas in the world and china is driving Philippine fishing boats out of the area despite the fact that it is within the 200 nautical miles of the coast of the Philippines and is over 700 nautical miles off the coast of China. They’re claiming the mineral and Oil rights in those areas also.
China took several atolls or small island (within the 200 nautical miles of the Philippines) that could not support human habitation and by way of massive dredging operations created islands big enough to house structures and even airstrips. They then claim this as Chinese territory which they then claim gives them the right to all the fishing and natural resources around “their territory”. Understand an important point here, there are actual large islands in that area that support human habitation that have Philippine citizens living there since forever and is recognized as Philippine territory and China says that doesn’t count as a legitimate claim in that area.
The Philippines has always maintained that if anyone took an impartial and objective look at China’s claims to territory in the South China Sea, China’s claims will not standup. Now the decision by the international court in The Hague shows that what the Philippines has been saying all along is correct.
There is absolutely nothing that supports China’s claim to the area other than China has the greater military might in the area than anyone else. That’s it, that’s the extent of their claim.
USA!USA!USA! hypocrisy at work, yet again. I know you get tired of me saying it. I get tired of me saying it. But, American hypocrisy is a truth you can take to the bank.
When the USA!USA!USA! wants/needs a resource, what do WE do? We fucken take it, one way or another, either by peace or by war … we don’t give a fuck how. Do I need to make a list? Of course not.
OK, just one … Arctic oil. How close are we to the Arctic? heh heh Oh, speaking of oil … did not Donald Trump say about the Middle East — JUST TAKE THEIR OIL!! Oh, yes, he did. And even if he didn’t, you know goddamned well and sure that that’s exactly what we do.
Bottom Line: BIG AND POWERFUL COUNTRIES DICTATE TO SMALLER COUNTRIES, not the other way around. Sure, it sucks. But, it’s the law of nature — big things consume small things. Cuttlefish don’t eat sharks. From the ancient Hittite Empire to the American one, size matters!! 700 nautical miles??? Pfffft!!! A stones throw. China is doing EXACTLY what is expected according to human history, EXACTLY what our government would do. Why does anyone act so surprised?
Of course, they don’t have SNS (Special Snowflake Status) allowing them to do what the fuck they want, whenever they want, and to whomever they want. Only one nation has that; the USofA. So, sure, it’s perfectly reasonable to play Poke-a-Dragon with some country with 1.3 Billion people (and, nukes) over some shit literally on the other side of the world.
Now, the only thing that could top this lunacy off is if we simultaneously play Poke-a-Bear with some country the size of Pluto (only colder) who also has 10,000 or so nukes. That would be awesome. Oh … wait ……..
Stucky
Actually I agree with you.
“Right” is only what you can defend or enforce. If you can’t defend your lunch and the bully can enforce his “right” to your lunch, then it’s his lunch.
I was just pointing out that according to international law the claim that China is making in the South China Sea is nonsense. But china is in the process of flexing the muscle of its military might, it’s testing the US to see what response it gets and how far it can push. What their intensions are I have no idea but I wouldn’t trust them.
Cool.
Actually, I wrote my post before reading yours. So, mine wasn’t refuting yours at all. 🙂
But they should trust us?
Trust is a great concept between individuals. Fairly worthless between nations. Which great leader said “Trust, but verify.”?
I agree with Stucky, mostly 🙂
I was thinking about China and Japan. How the Chinese seem more calm/passive while the Japanese seem (at least before WWII) more aggressive/militaristic and I wondered if perhaps early Chinese banished their malcontents to Japan (before ‘Turning Japanese”). Australia was populated by English convicts (of course, most were convicted of being poor).
Anyway, just my thoughts as I watch world events.
When dealing with China it might be good to keep in mind that they can lose more people than we have and still remain fully functional, maybe even be better off for it.