China slams US for sending warship near disputed reef
May 10, 2016, 2:36 pm

A crew member takes part in a fire drill on China’s largest and most advanced patrol vessel Haixun 01 on the South China Sea, April 4, 2016 [Xinhua]

The US warship, USS William P. Lawrence, illegally entered China’s waters near the islands on Tuesday without the permission of the Chinese government, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lu Kang said, adding that the warship was monitored, tracked and issued with a warning.

“The action by the U.S. threatens China’s sovereignty and security, endangers the safety of people and facilities on the reef, and harms regional peace and stability,” Lu said.

US Defense Department spokesman, Bill Urban said the so-called freedom of navigation operation was undertaken to “challenge excessive maritime claims” by China, Taiwan, and Vietnam which were seeking to restrict navigation rights in the South China Sea.

China’s Defence Ministry said two fighter jets were scrambled and three warships shadowed the US ship, issuing it a warning to leave.

According to Lu, the United States introduced freedom of navigation operations in 1979 before the signing of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), a treaty to which the United States is still not a party. The purpose of these recurring “patrols” is to disrupt the order of the seas and oceans without adhering to the UN convention.

The United States sends military vessels and aircraft on surveillance missions against China as simple acts of provocation, said Lu, adding that the United States actually considers itself above the UNCLOS and these activities are opposed by many countries.

Lu said that the flexing of US military muscle in the name of freedom of navigation is the biggest threat to peace and stability in the area.

The US patrol “again proves that China’s construction of defensive facilities on the relevant reefs in the Nansha Islands is completely reasonable and totally necessary”, the Chinese Defence Ministry said on Tuesday.

The South China Sea, which official Chinese data indicates is 3.55 million square km, is one of the world’s most strategically important waterways and is exceedingly rich with minerals.

China, which claims about 2 million square km of the maritime territory, has always maintained that “the situation in the South China Sea is stable. China and the countries of the [ASEAN] have kept a good-neighborly relationship”.

But Vietnam and the Philippines dispute China’s claim over the maritime region.

China claims it has indisputable sovereignty over the Nansha (or Spratly) Islands and its adjacent waters according to the “nine-dash line” that it has delineated at the South China Sea, waters which carry around half of the world’s trade and possibly contains rich reserves of oil and gas.

On Chinese maps, the “nine-dash” territorial demarcation envelops virtually the entire South China Sea.

The Islands are off the coasts of Philippines, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Philippines, a major non-NATO ally of the US in the Pacific and an ASEAN member, had previously agreed to allow the United States access to its military bases under a new security deal.

The deal will allow the United States to increase deployment of American troops, ships and aircrafts in the region.

This aids US plans to “rebalance” its forces in Asia-Pacific region for the much-hyped Asia Pivot.

TBP and Agencies