US Indo-Pac Command anxious over Chinese aggression in SCS
MELBOURNE: The head of the US Indo-Pacific Command said he was “very, concerned” about China’s aggression toward Philippine forces near disputed islands in the South China Sea.
The Chinese coast guard has repeatedly clashed with Philippine patrol vessels near the Philippines-occupied Second Thomas Shoal. Last month, several Filipino seamen were injured when a Chinese vessel sideswiped a smaller Philippine vessel and another two Chinese coast guard ships used high-pressure water spray to shatter the Philippine vessel’s windscreen. Asked if the submerged reef in the Spratly Islands was the most dangerous flash point in his area of command, US Adm John Aquilino told a forum at the Lowy Institute, a Sydney-based international policy think tank: “I’m very concerned about what’s happening at the Second Thomas Shoal.”
“I’m concerned about the direction it’s going,” Aquilino said. “These actions are dangerous, illegal and they are destabilising the region.” “What’s next and how far are they willing to go in that area?” Aquilino asked. The United States, Japan, the Philippines and Australia held their first four-way joint exercises in Philippine waters in the South China Sea on Sunday, which they said were intended to uphold freedom of navigation and overflight in a region contested by China. Aquilino said the joint exercise demonstrated the nations’ ability to operate safely, effectively and lawfully in the region.
“Those types of events and things are exactly what we need to do to demonstrate that strength amongst the like-minded allies and partners and that we will continue to operate anywhere that international law allows,” Aquilino said.
China’s military said Sunday that it had conducted air and sea patrols and that all activities that “disrupt the South China Sea” are under control, an apparent response to naval exercises by the US and its allies.
US plan to link AUKUS submarine pact to Taiwan riles China; Beijing to oppose
China will resolutely oppose any plan by the Biden administration to connect the AUKUS pact between Australia, the UK, and the US to the Taiwan issue, saying it will risk nuclear proliferation and exacerbate the arms race in the Asia-Pacific.
Reacting to reports quoting US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell’s remarks suggesting linking AUKUS pact to the Taiwan issue to deter any Chinese aggression, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that the American official’s remarks fan the flames of conflict, and are malicious in intent. “China is strongly dissatisfied with this and resolutely opposes it,” she said, adding that it increases the risk of nuclear proliferation and exacerbates the arms race in the Asia-Pacific region.