When will the so-called Freedom of Navigation operations end?
The United States sailed two guided-missile destroyers, USS Spruance and USS Preble, close to disputed islands in the South China Sea to conduct “freedom of navigation operations” on February 11, according to Clay Doss, a spokesman for the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet. It's only been a month since the U.S. ship last entered the South China Sea, and it definitely would not be the last one.
Admiral John Richardson, the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations just hailed “constructive and candid” talks with Chinese counterparts on January 14. He touched on the issue of the South China Sea during a speech at the Brookings Institution in Washington, saying the goal of the ongoing dialogue with Beijing is to avoid clashes at sea. It seems pretty obvious now that the U.S. deeds don't really match its words.
The guided-missile destroyers USS Spruance, front, and USS Decatur and the Military Sealift Command fleet oiler USNS Carl Brashearas， they steam in formation in the Pacific Ocean, October 28, 2016. /VCG Photo
In fact, even their words are inconsistent. “The U.S. insists that Freedom of Navigation Operations are not about any one country, nor are they about making political statements, but the spokesman made it clear that the operation Monday was to challenge China's excessive maritime claims. They are good at self-contradictory,” said Prof. Zhang Junshe, vice president of China Naval Research Institute.
“Besides, China's maritime claim is not excessive at all with profound historical evidence and legal supports. It is the so-called Freedom of Navigation that does not stand.”
Even though the term is codified in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, not all UN member states have ratified the convention, even including the U.S. itself.
Being one of the world's most important arenas for maritime trade, the South China Sea carries an estimated one-third of global shipping and 40 percent of China's foreign trade.
It is beneficial to both China and the rest of the world to ensure free access to the sea, and there is not a single case of any civil ship encountering problems of free passage there. Therefore, Zhang concluded that the Freedom of Navigation is only an excuse of the U.S. to meddle in the South China Sea.
China has kept a low profile in the South China Sea in recent years. As Professor Li Mingjiang of Nanyang Technological University Singapore pointed out in a Lianhe Zaobao report lately, China has weakened its strong moves in the South China Sea, with the constructive activities and military deployment in the reefs for a long time, and Chinese fishermen have stopped fishing in unsafe water areas.
The Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force Takanami-class destroyer JS Makinami, front, the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Bunker Hill, third, transit the western Pacific Ocean, November 12, 2017. /VCG Photo
“The situation in the South China Sea has stabilized since China and ASEAN countries returned to the track of peaceful consultation and cooperation to resolve disputes, which is something the U.S. doesn't want to see,” Zhang said.
“It aims to provoke tensions and utilize the South China Sea dispute as a leverage to contain the influence of China.”
The U.S. is asking for trouble by stirring up tensions in the South China Sea. After all, it is the peaceful coexistence in the region that benefits all. As Zhang puts it: “Freedom does have a boundary and always come with a price.” It's time for the U.S. to stop impairing regional stability under the disguise of the so-called Freedom of Navigation.”
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