The US Navy yesterday dismissed Beijing’s objections over a “freedom of navigation operation” conducted near the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島) in the latest incident drawing new attention to one of the world’s potential military flashpoints.
In an unusual move, the US Navy’s 7th Fleet issued a rebuttal to China’s objections to yesterday’s mission, calling it “the latest in a long string of [Chinese] actions to misrepresent lawful US maritime operations and assert its excessive and illegitimate maritime claims” in the South China Sea.
China claims the area virtually in its entirety.
The navy said that China’s sweeping maritime claims pose a serious threat to the freedom of navigation and overflight, free trade and unimpeded commerce, and freedom of economic opportunity for South China Sea littoral nations.
“As long as some countries continue to claim and assert limits on rights that exceed their authority under international law, the United States will continue to defend the rights and freedoms of the sea guaranteed to all,” it said.
The Navy said its guided missile cruiser USS Chancelorsville yesterday “asserted navigational rights and freedoms in the South China Sea near the Spratly Islands, consistent with international law.”
China called the action illegal and said it mobilized naval and air asserts to issue warnings and drive off the ship.
“The US military’s actions have seriously violated China’s sovereignty and security, which is further ironclad evidence of its pursuit of navigational hegemony and militarization of the South China Sea,” said Tian Junli (田軍里), spokesman for the Southern Theater Command of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army.
“China has indisputable sovereignty over the South China Sea islands and their adjacent waters,” Tian said.
The long-seething South China Sea territorial conflicts involving Taiwan, China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei have long been regarded as a delicate fault line in the US-China rivalry in the region.
While the US lays no claims to the strategic waterway, where an estimated US$5 trillion in global trade transits each year, it has said that freedom of navigation and overflight is in the US’ national interest. The sea is also home to rich fishing stocks and a potential wealth of energy and mineral resources.
In March, US Indo-Pacific commander Admiral John C. Aquilino said that China has fully militarized at least three of several islands it built in the disputed waters with anti-ship and anti-aircraft missile systems, laser and jamming equipment.
He described it as an increasingly aggressive move that threatens all nations operating nearby.
Then in July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called on China to comply with a 2016 arbitration ruling that invalidated Beijing’s vast claims on historical grounds in the South China Sea.
On a visit to the area earlier this month, US Vice President Kamala Harris reaffirmed Washington’s commitment to defend the Philippines under the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty.
She also announced an additional aid of US$7.5 million to Philippine maritime law enforcement agencies.
That came shortly after the Philippine navy alleged a Chinese coast guard vessel had forcibly seized Chinese rocket debris as Filipino sailors were towing it to their island.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS