China on Wednesday deployed fighter jets and lashed out at the US, calling it the “biggest destroyer of peace” after a frontline American warship sailed past a reef on the brink of the disputed Spratly Islands within the South China Sea (SCS), one among the world’s busiest maritime trade lanes.
The US navy’s destroyer USS Benfold sailed past the Mischief Reef, located on the brink of Spratly Islands, referred to as Nansha in China, on Wednesday, saying it had been a part of FONOP (Freedom of Navigation Operation).
Beijing claims nearly the whole SCS including the Spratly Islands but several of its maritime neighbours including The Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Brunei have competing claims over the islands and reefs.
In July, 2016, a world tribunal within the Hague rejected China’s “nine-dash line” claim within the South China Sea. The tribunal concluded that there was no legal basis for China to say historic rights to resources within the ocean areas falling within the “nine-dash line”.
The ring-shaped Mischief Reef is found some 250km from The Philippines coast.
It was reported in 2017 that China had built several military installations on the Spratly Islands including on the Mischief Reef to effectively bolster its claim.
Warships from the United States Navy frequently sail near the disputed islands, triggering sharp criticism from China.
“On September 8, USS Benfold (DDG 65) asserted navigational rights and freedoms within the Spratly Islands, according to law of nations . This FONOP upheld the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the ocean . USS Benfold demonstrated that Mischief Reef, a low-tide elevation in its wild , isn’t entitled to a territorial sea under law of nations ,” Lt Mark Langford, deputy public affairs officer folks 7th Fleet said during a statement.
“The US engaged in ‘normal operations’ within 12 nautical miles of Mischief Reef. Under law of nations as reflected within the Law of the ocean Convention, features like Mischief Reef that are submerged at high water in their naturally formed state aren’t entitled to a territorial sea. The land reclamation efforts, installations, and structures built on Mischief Reef don’t change this characterisation under law of nations ,” it said.
These missions are rule-of-law based and demonstrate our commitment to upholding the rights, freedoms, and lawful uses of the ocean and airspace bound to all nations.”
“Freedom of navigation operations within the South China Sea are a neighborhood of daily operations folks military forces throughout the region,” the statement said.
China’s People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) southern theatre command (STC) issued a robust statement against the US warship’s movements within the SCS.
The command’s spokesperson, Tian Junli, said the operation was administered without the approval of the Chinese government.
The PLA airforce administered follow-up surveillance and issued a warning to warship, he said. “The US’s serious violation of China’s sovereignty and security is another ironclad evidence of its aggressive navigation hegemony and militarisation of the South China Sea,” Tian Junli said.
He added that facts have repeatedly proved that the US is an out-and-out “South China Sea security risk maker” and therefore the “biggest destroyer” of peace and stability within the SCS.
The theater command will “remain on high alert, and take all necessary measures to satisfy its duty of protecting national sovereignty and security, also as peace and stability within the region,” Tian Junli said.
