New York Times -
WASHINGTON
— A United States naval destroyer was approaching waters near the
Spratly Islands in the South China Sea late Monday, the Pentagon said,
directly challenging China’s claims that the artificial island chain is within its territorial borders.
The
Lassen, a guided missile destroyer, was preparing to sail within 12
nautical miles of the islands, making a long-anticipated entry into the
disputed waters, officials said. American officials did not inform their
Chinese counterparts as they planned the provocative maneuver, saying
that to do so would have undercut their message.
“You
don’t need to consult with any nation when you are exercising the right
of freedom of navigation in international waters,” John Kirby, the
State Department spokesman, said at a news conference.
Mr.
Kirby said that such a challenge to what he called a questionable
sovereignty claim was “one of the reasons you have a navy — to be able
to exert influence and defend freedom of navigation on international
waters.”
Interactive Feature: What China Has Been Building in the South China Sea
China
has been reclaiming land in the South China and East China Seas for
several years, and the projects in the vicinity of the Spratlys have
come under increasing criticism from the United States and its regional
allies, including the Philippines. The United States and several Asian
nations dispute the legitimacy of the islands built by China.
The
Obama administration did not make an immediate announcement of the
naval maneuver, and Pentagon officials would only confirm that it was
planned, as they had forecast weeks ago.
The
White House declined to share any details about the operation,
referring questions to the Defense Department. But Josh Earnest, the
press secretary, noted that President Obama
had stood next to President Xi Jinping of China at a Rose Garden news
conference last month and said that the United States would operate, fly
or sail anywhere that international law allowed.
TAIWAN
CHINA
Hong Kong
Pacific Ocean
Gulf of
Tonkin
South China Sea
PHILIPPINES
Paracel Islands
The Nine Dashes
China’s historical
territorial claim
LAOS
Manila
CAMBODIA
Claimed by
the Philippines
VIETNAM
Fiery Cross
Reef
Spratly
Islands
MALAYSIA
BRUNEI
200 Miles
INDONESIA
“That
certainly includes the ability of our Navy to operate in international
waters,” Mr. Earnest said. “This is a critically important principle,
particularly in the South China Sea, because there are billions of
dollars of commerce that flow through that region of the world every
year — maybe even more than that — and ensuring the free flow of this
commerce, and that freedom of navigation of those vessels is protected,
is critically important to the global economy.”
American
officials had said for the last month that the Navy would send a
surface ship inside the waters claimed by China, a vow widely viewed as a
signal to the Chinese that most of the rest of the world does not
recognize its claim on the island chain. Mr. Obama approved the move
this month, administration officials said.
The
president signaled the Navy maneuver last month at the annual meeting
of the United Nations General Assembly, when he said that the United
States had an “interest in upholding the basic principles of freedom of
navigation and the free flow of commerce and in resolving disputes
through international law, not the law of force.”
Obama: land reclamation projects in S. China Sea 'counterproductive'
U.S. President Obama says land
reclamation projects in the South China Sea are unproductive and calls
for an end to aggressive action in the region. Rough Cut (no reporter
narration).
By Reuters on Publish Date June 1, 2015.
Photo by Reuters.
Watch in Times Video »
Defense
Secretary Ashton B. Carter has said repeatedly that the United States
military will operate where international law allows.
China,
in what some Asia analysts interpreted as a gesture to pre-empt the
American naval maneuver, sent warships into United States territorial
waters in August. Five Chinese ships came within 12 miles of the coast of Alaska while Mr. Obama was visiting the state.
But
American military officials said that the two maneuvers were not
comparable, citing international maritime laws that allow passage such
as the Chinese transit near Alaska if there was no other passageway for a
ship to reach its destination.
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In
the case of the Spratly Islands, one American military official said,
there were several other routes that the United States destroyer could
have used, but the military deliberately chose to enter the waters that
China claims as its territory.
In
recent years, China has been claiming large parts of the strategic
waterway by enlarging rocks and submerged reefs into islands big enough
for military airstrips, radar equipment and lodging for soldiers,
American officials said.
Although
China claims much of the South China Sea as sovereign territory, the
12-mile zone around the new islands is particularly delicate because
international law says that artificial islands do not have sovereign
rights up to the 12-mile limit.
The United States has not traveled close to the Chinese-occupied islands in the South China Sea since at least 2012. In May, a United States Navy
surveillance plane flew near three of China’s five artificial islands
but did not go within the 12-mile zones. Chinese Navy radio operators
warned the Americans to leave the area.
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Challenging Chinese Claims, US Sends Warship Near Artificial Island Chain
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Challenging Chinese Claims, US Sends Warship Near Artificial Island Chain
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