China on Friday said it would not stand for violations of its territorial waters in the name of freedom of navigation, as the US considers sailing warships close to China’s artificial islands in the South China Sea.
A US defense official on Thursday said that the US was considering sending ships to waters inside the 12 nautical mile (22km) zones that China claims as territory around islands it has built in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島).
Western media reports quoted US officials as saying the action could take place within a matter of days, but awaited a decision by US President Barack Obama.
The commander of US forces in the Pacific, Admiral Harry Harris, on Friday declined to say whether the US would carry out the plan, but he made clear it was an option he had presented to Obama and said the US must carry out freedom of navigation patrols throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
“I simply won’t discuss future operations,” Harris told a Washington seminar. “With regards to whether we are going to sail within 12 miles, or fly within 12 miles, of any of the reclaimed islands that China has built in the South China Sea, I will reserve that for later.”
Earlier on Friday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying (華春瑩) warned against any such patrols.
“We will never allow any country to violate China’s territorial waters and airspace in the Spratly Islands, in the name of protecting freedom of navigation and overflight,” Hua told a regular news briefing. “We urge the related parties not to take any provocative actions, and genuinely take a responsible stance on regional peace and stability.”
China claims most of the South China Sea, where Taiwan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have overlapping claims.
Washington has signaled it does not recognize Beijing’s sovereignty over the several islands China has built on reefs in the Spratly Islands and says the US Navy will continue to operate wherever international law allows.
The issue is central to increasingly tense relations between the US and China, the world’s two largest economies.
During a visit to Washington by Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) last month, the two sides finalized an agreement aimed at reducing the possibility of aerial clashes.
On the eve of Xi’s visit, the Pentagon said a Chinese aircraft performed an unsafe maneuver during an air intercept of a US spy plane on Sept. 15 over the Yellow Sea.
Harris told the seminar he believed the incident was the result of “poor airmanship” rather than a directive from Chinese headquarters.
In related news, China has completed the construction of two lighthouses in the South China Sea, Xinhua news agency reported.
A completion ceremony was held for the lighthouses on Cuarteron Reef (Huayang Reef, 華陽礁) in the Spratly Islands, Xinhua said late on Friday.
The US and the Philippines have opposed the construction.
Beijing has said construction in the region is to help maritime search and rescue, disaster relief, environmental protection and navigational security.
It has also said it will continue to build other installations to better serve nations in the region.
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