The commander of the US Navy’s 7th Fleet yesterday said that he is wary of the situation in the South China Sea being painted as a battle between the US and China, but added the presence of a Chinese missile system on a disputed island would not stop the US military from flying over the region.
US Navy Vice Admiral Joseph Aucoin’s comments come a week after it was revealed that Beijing had deployed surface-to-air missiles on an island in the fiercely contested region. The US said the presence of missiles provided increasing evidence of militarization of the area by China.
China subsequently accused the US of militarizing the region, saying patrols by US Navy vessels and military aircraft had escalated tensions and raised concerns about stability in the area.
Last month, a US warship deliberately sailed near one of the Beijing-controlled islands in the Paracel Islands (Xisha Islands, 西沙群島) in a so-called freedom of navigation exercise. Taiwan, Vietnam and China have overlapping claims in the Paracels.
Aucoin, whose Japan-based fleet covers a region from India to the international dateline in the Pacific Ocean, said the US is not making such maneuvers to single out any nation, and wants all nations that are reclaiming land to stop.
“I wish it was not portrayed as US versus China,” Aucoin told reporters in Sydney, one of his stops on a visit to meet with Australian defense officials. “This should not seem provocative. What we are trying to ensure is that all countries, no matter size or strength, can pursue their interests based on the [UN Convention on the] Law of the Sea and not have that endangered by some of these actions.”
Last week, US and Taiwanese officials confirmed commercial satellite images showed anti-aircraft missiles had been placed on Woody Island (Yongxing Island, 永興島). China has not denied the appearance of the missiles, but said it is entitled to defend its territory.
Aucoin said the missiles had provided a “destabilizing effect” across the region and urged China to be transparent about its intentions. Asked whether the presence of the missile system would affect US preparedness to fly over the area, Aucoin disagreed.
“We will fly, sail, operate wherever international law allows, including those areas,” he said.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) said: “The US is not involved in the South China Sea dispute, and this is not, and should not become, a problem between China and the United States,” Hua said.
“China’s deploying necessary, limited defensive facilities on its own territory is not substantively different from the United States defending Hawaii,” Hua added.
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