U.S. to confront China over islands, Mattis says

HONOLULU — The U.S. will continue to confront China’s militarization of manmade islands in the South China Sea, Defense Secretary James Mattis said Tuesday, arguing that Beijing hasn’t abided by its promise not to put weapons on the Spratly Islands.

Mattis said American ships are maintaining a “steady drumbeat” of naval operations around the disputed islands, adding that “only one country” seems to be bothered by the vessels’ routine activities.

“We are going out of our way to cooperate with Pacific nations; that’s the way we do business in the world,” Mattis told reporters traveling with him to a national security conference in Singapore. “But we are also going to confront what we believe is out of step with international law, out of step with international tribunals that have spoken on the issue.”

Underscoring the continued tensions in the region, two Philippine officials said Wednesday that their government had quietly protested after Chinese ships deployed a helicopter that flew “dangerously close” to a navy boat carrying supplies to marines based in a disputed shoal in the South China Sea.

The Philippine navy personnel on board the rubber boat were unharmed in the May 11 incident and proceeded to deliver the supplies to marines on a grounded Philippine navy ship at Second Thomas Shoal, which has been guarded by Chinese forces, the two officials said.

The Chinese helicopter hovered “dangerously close” to the Philippine rubber boat, “around 40-50 feet above, seemingly trying to harass and overturn it,” said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the incident publicly.

The Philippines and China recently held talks to prevent a repeat of the incident, which earned the “displeasure” of President Rodrigo Duterte, the official said.

Rep. Gary Alejano, a former Philippine marine officer, mentioned the incident during a hearing Wednesday at the House of Representatives that focused on the South China Sea territorial issue and was attended by top defense and diplomatic officials. Alejano asked the government to condemn the Chinese harassment.

The Chinese navy helicopter “was so close that seawater splash entered the rubber boat,” said Alejano, who asked the government to disclose more details of such incidents to the public.

“If the Duterte administration wants the public to trust its approach in the West Philippine Sea, certain details meant for public consumption should be released,” Alejano said in a statement, using the Philippine name for the South China Sea.

“They cannot blame the public if there are doubts and low confidence on their words since what they are disclosing and what is happening on the ground are two different stories,” Alejano said.

After taking power nearly two years ago, D uterte declared he would chart a foreign policy not highly oriented toward the United States, the country’s treaty ally. He took steps to revive frosty ties with Beijing while seeking to boost Chinese trade, investment and infrastructure funds.

The U.S. has long been critical of China’s sweeping sovereignty claims in the South China Sea. On Sunday, two U.S. warships sailed close to the Paracel Islands, which lie north of the Spratlys, the latest freedom of navigation operation designed to challenge Beijing’s claims. China protested the maneuver.

According to the U.S., the freedom of navigation missions are meant to underscore the rights of the U.S. and others to operate in international waters and airspace and to block efforts by any nation to unlawfully extend their boundaries or territorial rights.

But Washington has signaled its displeasure in other ways, last week withdrawing an invitation for Beijing to participate in a large, multinational naval exercise in the Pacific later this summer. China had participated in the exercise known as Rim of the Pacific in 2014 and 2016.

The Pentagon said the decision to disinvite the Chinese navy was triggered by what it called strong evidence that China has deployed anti-ship missiles, surface-to-air missile systems and electronic jammers to contested areas in the Spratly Islands. It called on China to remove the systems.

China says it is within its rights to build up defenses on islands in the South China Sea that it believes are its sovereign territory.

Mattis was in Hawaii on his way to the Singapore meeting so that he could attend the ceremony marking the change in leadership at U.S. Pacific Command.

U.S. Navy Adm. Philip Davidson was to take over Pacific Command from Adm. Harry Harris on Wednesday.

Harris has been nominated to become the next U.S. ambassador to South Korea.