US warship challenges China

> First ‘freedom of navigation’ operation under Trump

WASHINGTON: A US Navy warship sailed within 12 nautical miles of an artificial island built up by China in the South China Sea, US officials said on Wednesday, the first such challenge to Beijing in the strategic waterway since President Donald Trump took office.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said USS Dewey travelled close to the Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands, among a string of islets, reefs and shoals over which China has territorial disputes with its neighbours.

China said its warships had warned the US ship and it lodged “stern representations” with the United States.

China said it remained resolutely opposed to so-called freedom of navigation operations.

The US patrol, the first of its kind since October, marked the latest attempt to counter what Washington sees as Beijing’s efforts to limit freedom of navigation in the strategic waters, and comes as Trump is seeking China’s cooperation to rein in ally North Korea’s nuclear and missile programmes.

Territorial waters are generally defined by UN convention as extending at most 12 nautical miles from a state’s coastline.

One US official said it was the first operation near a land feature which was included in a ruling last year against China by an international arbitration court in The Hague. The court invalidated China’s claim to sovereignty over large swathes of the South China Sea.

The United States has criticised China’s construction of islands and build-up of military facilities in the sea, and is concerned they could be used to restrict free movement.

US allies in the region had grown anxious as the Trump administration held off on carrying out South China Sea operations during its first few months in office.

Last month, top US commander in the Asia-Pacific region, Admiral Harry Harris, said the United States would likely carry out freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea soon.

Still, the US military has a long-standing position that the operations are carried out throughout the world, including in areas claimed by allies, and they are separate from political considerations.

“We operate in the Asia-Pacific region on a daily basis, including in the South China Sea. We operate in accordance with international law,” Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said in a statement.

The Pentagon gave no details of the latest mission.

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang told a monthly briefing two Chinese guided-missile warships had warned the US vessel to leave the waters, and China had complained to the United States.

“The US side’s errant ways have caused damage to the improving situation in the South China Sea, and are not conducive to peace and stability,” Ren said.

Ren was referring to a recent of easing of tension between China and other claimants, in particular the Philippines.

China’s extensive claims to the South China Sea, which sees about US$5 trillion in ship-borne trade pass every year, are challenged by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam, as well as Taiwan.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang said such patrols were “very likely to cause unexpected sea and air accidents”.

US-based South China Sea expert Greg Poling of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies said the key question was whether the American warship had engaged in a real challenge to the Chinese claims by turning on radar or launching a helicopter or boat – actions not permitted in a territorial sea under international law.

Otherwise, critics say, the operation would have resembled what is known as “innocent passage” and could have reinforced rather than challenged China’s claim to a territorial limit around the reef. – Reuters